The World's in Your Hands
by Gaige's Peppy Sweetheart
Summary: Ash misses the opportunity to get a starter Pokemon, but as if by fate, that changes when a rare Pokemon who takes an unexpected liking to him befriends him. The two of them will face various challenges and catch new rare Pokemon and make new allies and rivals as he pursues his destiny. Note: may contain some language and violence but mild. Beta Readers wanted!
1. The Letdown

"Ash, wake up!" shrilled a feminine voice that reverberated through the walls of the bedroom of her son's room. Delia Ketchum, an auburn-haired woman of the age of 33, walked up to her 10-year-old son, Ash Ketchum. She looked at the clock and noticed that it was already 9:41 in the morning.

"Huh? Wha?" said Ash, who was stirring in his sleep. The boy was completely unaware that a storm had occurred last night and had disabled the alarm clock and now he was well over an hour and a half late to get his first Pokemon!

"Ash, your alarm clock stopped working after the bad thunderstorm and you overslept-a lot!" stated his Delia. "You were supposed to be there at 8:00. Now there won't be any starter Pokemon left!"

"Maybe he has a few that are weak," Ash trailed off as he got off his bed and began to get dressed; his attire consisted of blue jeans, black and white tennis shoes, his blue and white jacket and green gloves. He put on his hat and grabbed his green knapsack and went out the front door.

Ash began to walk down the street to the front of the hill that Professor Oak's lab was. It took him about a minute to go up the hill from the base, but it didn't seem to bother him that the slope of the hill imped the boy's quick speed. Ash touched the door bell, which then made a ding-dong sound followed by a male voice that shouted "Come in!". Ash did so and looked in amazement at the huge surroundings; it was the first time he had ever entered the professor's lab and a middle aged man in his late 50s with a lab coat and greyish hair approached him.

"What can I do for you today?"

"I'm Ash Ketchum and I've come to get my starter Pokemon and register myself as a trainer," responded the black-haired boy with a smile of confidence.

The professor shook his head in dissapointment at the boy. "I'm sorry, but I've already given the three starters away as well as seven others," confessed Professor Oak. "The three first-come-first-serve trainers got Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle, and the ones behind got a Pokemon of their own; there were Nidoran male and female, Sandshrew, Pidgey, Spearow, Oddish, and Zubat."

"Oh," said Ash as he looked down in sadness and was mentally kicking himself for getting up late. "I guess I'll see you next month."

In Pallet Town, one could obtain a Pokemon and register as a trainer either on the day of their 10th birthday or at a special distribution that occured twice a month. Pallet Town was a small place, only about 3,800 residents and growing rapidly growing, so it was easy to notice that the number of Trainers was increasing as well.

All the sudden, a low crying noise was heard and Ash looked around to see what it was and noticed that in the corner there was a large tank filled with water and a rather large teal serpentine-like creature in it. Around the tank were several of the Professor's aids, monitoring the creature very closely. Ash kept his distance from the scientists, but was still able to see the animal that was inside.

"Dra...niiii..." it said hoarsely.

"Professor Oak, what's wrong with that Dratini?" asked Ash as Oak approached the other scientists and looked down into the tank.

"Some spoiled rich kid got this Dratini as a gift from his father who was at the Safari Zone in Fuchsia City and the boy abused it because she was so weak. It pains me to think of the fact that such cruel people exist."

"What will happen to it?" asked Ash who was clearly emotional about the well-being of the Pokemon.

"Once she is better she will go to a trainer who will love her and raise her properly," said Professor Oak. He approached the tank and she moved back slowly away from him, but he patted the Pokemon's head and she made a low cry in response. Ash went over and asked for permission if he could do the same, and the Professor granted it. Ash patted the Pokemon's head and she began to wag her tail happily and started to lick Ash's cheek with her warm tongue. The scientists and Oak all gasped.

"What? What's the big deal?" asked Ash as he took a step back.

"This Dratini has been here for only six days and she hasn't even gain the trust from me," said Oak who was astonished. "I think once she heals, she should go with you."

"Say what?!" shouted Ash in astonishment.


	2. New Friend

"Say what?!" said the 10 year old boy as he heard the request of the well-known Professor; he heard what he had said, but he just could not believe that he would be entrusted with such a rare Pokemon whose evolved forms are some of the most sought-after Pokemon.

"This Dratini must have sensed something in you that makes her like you!" said Professor Oak. "Here, register my number in your PokéGear and as soon as I have an update, I will call you."

"Well, ok, if you insist," said Ash as he got out his PokéGear's phone and put in the number the Professor gave him. Ash then said goodbye to him and started to go home. However, he was a bit skeptical about encountering his mother since she more than likely would bombard him with questions about why he didn't have a Pokémon, but it seemed a bit far fetched to explain that he would be getting a rare dragon-type real soon.

He made his way into his house and his mother was sitting at the table with a cup of herbal tea and the newspaper.

"Well, how did it go?" she asked sweetly as she set down the newspaper to see her son. He had somewhat of a neutral expression on his face and it was hard for his mom to tell what the matter was.

"What's wrong, Ash? Were there no more Pokémon left for you to get?" asked his mom in a quiet tone; it was somewhat of a rhetorical question, but she needed to know, anyways.

"Well, yes, but I _am_ going to get a Pokémon, just when she's ready," explained as he pulled out the chair and sat down next to his mom. She got up and went to the skillet and gave him a plate of scrabbled eggs and bacon and a glass of Sunny Delight. He began to ingest the morning sustenance and he patted his stomach in satisfaction.

"What do you mean 'she'?'' asked Delia as she fixed herself a plate and sat back down next to her son.

"Professor Oak is currently helping a Dratini recover who was abused by some trainer who thought she was so weak; I hate people who act that way," said Ash as he took a sip of his orange beverage.

"The Professor is entrusting you with a Pokémon that rare?!" she shouted, with her eyes bulging. "How on earth did that happen?"

"Well, when I went to pet the Dratini, she wagged her tail and licked my face; she still cringes at the people who have taken care of her the past six days," he explained as he started to get up.

"Well, I wonder why she took a liking for you all the sudden?" spoke his mother as she gathered the dishes and took them to the sink. "What will you do in the meantime?"

"Probably pick up my room some before I leave; no telling how long it will take before he calls," answered Ash as he went up the stairs to his room.

"Ok, honey, I'll be watching my stories!" she said with her cheerful tone as she went into the living room room and turned on the television.

Ash made it to his room; it was an utter mess. Clothes were tossed carelessly this way and that, socks, underwear, and trash piled all in the corner. The black-haired boy decided it was time to pick up everything before he embarked on his new adventure with his dragon-type friend. He went downstairs and got a 30-gallon Glad garbage bag and started picking up the littered water bottles, juice cans, and pieces of paper from old homework. It was surprisingly quite a lot; it filled up about a third of the bag. He pulled up the strings and put it out of the way. He got a close basket and started putting all of his clothes into it. He had been working for about 45 minutes and the room was almost done.

He looked at the posters of Pokémon on the walls; there were some of Venusaur, Alakazam, Charizard, Blastoise, and Pikachu, some of his favorites. He felt accomplished as he gazed at the spotless room, but it needed vacuuming and dusting. He figured it would be nice to give his mom a break of house work and he went to get the vacuum cleaner, lemon-scented Pledge, and a cloth. He started dusting his nightstand and his dresser, than started vacuuming. He was amazed at how much he got finished in an hour and decided to take a short nap.

Coincidentally, his mom also took a nap and when he woke up, it was 2:15 in the afternoon. It had started to rain and he awoke up to the sound of rain pattering the window pane. Ash always had been a big fan of the rain, and he gazed out the window, watching the water fall to the ground. He lost his train of thought until he heard a ringing sound. He looked into his pocket and saw that it was Pokégear ringing.

"Hello?"

"Yes, Ash, this is Professor Oak. You won't believe this, but Dratini has recovered. She is whining and crying uncontrollably! I suggest you come over as soon as possible to calm her down!"

"Ok, will be there as soon as I can," said Ash as he hung up.

"I take it that it was professor Oak, yes?" asked his Mom who walked into his room.

"Yeah, he says Dratini is acting crazy. I guess she wants me to go get her," said Ash as he walked downstairs and inhaled a fantastic aroma.

"What's that cooking, mom?" he asked as he turned around to look at her.

"Beef pot roast, sweetie; you'd better hurry and return home because the storm is gonna get worse!"

Ash started to put on his poncho and his galoshes and an umbrella. "Will do, mom, I'll be back soon!" he shouted as he closed the door.


	3. New Trainer

A.N. Don't own Pokemon and 99.99999999999999% sure I never will. lol

The storm began to get worse, but Ash didn't mind this; he had one objective in mind, and that was to help this little Dratini. He was dying to have a new friend since he wasn't that popular in school, and the fact that his first Pokémon would be a dragon would be all the better! Most of Ash's classmates received some of the standard "run-of-the-mill" starters like Nidoran, Pidgey, Rattata, or Spearow; it isn't to say that they were bad, per se, but Dratini had a large range of attacks in its first stage, easily beating them all.

Ash rang the bell of the Professor's lab and was greeted by an assistant. "You know where to find them," he told Ash, and just like that, he ran towards the pool where the teal serpent-like Dragon Pokémon resided. When she saw the boy approaching, she wagged her tail, causing it to splash a bit of water, and she squealed with delight. (A.N.; I haven't kept up with the anime in a _real_ long time, so I don't know if Dratinis say their name or make another noise. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong)

"Ni, ni!" she squealed and she flung her body at Ash, causing him to fall down laughing. Despite the snake-like dragon being about six feet, she was incredibly light, being only seven pounds.

"Dratini! It's so good to see you again!" said Ash as he rubbed the Pokemon's head; it was touching damp sand, but there were no apparent scales on her teal body. She poked him with her "nose" (or mouth) and licked his face, causing him to giggle all the while she wagged her tail.

Professor Oak looked at the sight and started to laugh, astonished at the lil dragon's actions. Ash stood up, and Dratini explored his two legs, swirling around them, almost making the boy trip. She coiled around his waist gently like a belt and rested her head on his shoulders, making both the Professor and the young boy to smile.

"Ash, I must say, that you are incredibly lucky to obtain a Pokemon like this so early in your journey," said Professor Oak as he turned around to his desk and picked up a red device and a Pokeball.

"This is your Pokedex, a highly technologically-advanced encyclopedia that will record data of the Pokemon that you will encounter on your journey. And here is a Pokeball for Dratini." He pressed the button and sent out a red laser that struck Dratini and sucked her into the ball. Oak was about to hand Ash the ball, but the ball wiggled furiously and Dratini popped out! She gave Professor Oak a dissatisfied look and smack him in the face with her tail. The impact smacked his cheek and left a red mark and she let out a low groan and got back on Ash's shoulders.

"That Pokemon, albeit very light, packs a strong punch," said Professor Oak as he rubbed his sore cheek. Dratini made a small "giggle" noise, indicating that she was amused with her antics. "Appears that she doesn't want to go back in her ball; a rare trait since most Pokemon are real compliant and do not struggle, but this one seems to be a bit rebellious. You are to be become master, right?" The boy confirmed this by shaking his head. Dratini licked his cheek. "As you discover more Pokemon, you will observe that they all have different personalities, even those of the same species! As you become stronger, you will start to see that they will teach you the essence of being a trainer, and you will teach them the importance of being a Pokemon and that there exists a bond that cannot be broken."

Ash took a moment to let those words sink in; was it really true that an inseparable bond would form between him and this small dragon? He still wondered if it was just a fluke that the dragon took a liking to him, but...

"And here is another gift for you, Ash," said Professor Oak as he handed Ash five red and white orbs. "Five Pokeballs; a trainer can hold up to six at most at one time; any other Pokemon you catch will be stored via P.C. I had a dream of once becoming an expert field researcher of Pokemon, which I have partially fulfilled. Some say that there are over 600 types of Pokemon, but the numbers are real shaky. Your goal of becoming a master will be perilous, and it is up to you to assemble a well-balanced team that you can trust to have your back in the toughest of situations. Your first objective is to collect the 8 gym badges of Kanto; the first one is in Pewter Ciity."

"What Pokemon does the leader use there?" asked Ash.

"Ah, now I don't want to tell you too much; you will need to find that out on your own. I wish you the best of luck, you two!" Ash started to head for the door and closed it behind him. He got his umbrella and held it over him and Dratini and started the walk down the slope towards his house. Within a few minutes, he arrived home and his mother saw him. She was in the middle of stirring the pot roast when she saw the Pokemon on his shoulders.

"Ash! Is that _your_ Pokemon?" she asked in a shocked tone; he honestly didn't know why she was making a big deal out of it since he had already told her he was getting a Dratini, but the fact that the snake-like Pokemon was wrapped around him like a long scarf must've been quite a shock to her.

"Yeah, this is Dratini. Say hello to her," said Ash. Dratini was a little hesitant at first as his mom approached her and hid behind Ash. "Don't worry, she's just my mom; she's not going to do anything to hurt you." Dratini eased up a little bit as Delia reached out her hand, but Dratini's attention was focused on the wooden spoon in her other hand. She got off Ash and landed gracefully on the floor and sniffed the spoon. She stuck out her "nose" and smelled it and seemed quite interested.

"This is beef, it's quite good. Taste it," suggested Delia as she showed Dratini the food. She took a small bite and wagged her tail in delight and clearly wanted more.

"Looks like we have to fix another plate for dinner tonight," chuckled Ash as he petted the dragon's head, causing her to wag her tail again as she got back on his shoulder.

"Not that I mind or anything, but why is Dratini not in her ball?" asked his mom as she started getting some glass plates out of the cupboard.

"Well, Professor Oak tried putting her in it, but as soon as that happened, she popped out!" explained Ash. "Says that it's very rare for Pokemon to do that."

"Well, I don't mind her staying out of the ball, but you need to make sure she stays out of messes and let her out occasionally to take care of business," said his mom as she put the meat and gravy over a mound of rice. She gave it to Ash and she fixed a bowl for Dratini, whose stomach started to growl. Once the food was placed on the ground, she instantaneously started to ingest the sustenance.

"Look at her eat! She must not have been fed well when Oak was taking care of her," said Ash as he started eating himself.

"Well, I'm not surprised; when I was a trainer about 20 years ago, I tasted Pokemon food," said his mom with a small laugh.

"How was it?"

"Relatively dry and bland, but they say that human's taste buds are different from Pokemon's, so it's hard to tell," Delia laughed as she took up the plates and bowl and put them in the empty dishwasher.

"Well, you should get ready for your big day tomorrow, honey, since you wanna be a Pokemon master," said his mom. "I packed some pairs of socks and underwear, and **_please_**be sure to change your pair each day." Ash's face turned beet red in embarrassment. "Where is Dratini going to sleep tonight? In her ball?"

"I don't know yet; I guess I'll have to wait when it's time for sleep," he responded as he got out of his chair. He held his hand out and Dratini climbed up it and "sat" across his shoulders.

"Please go give her a bath in case she decides not to sleep in the ball; I changed your sheets and we don't know when she last got bathed," said his mom as he walked up the stairs with his little dragon still clinging on.

"Will do, mom!" shouted Ash from the balcony. He entered the bathroom and instructed the little dragon to get in the tub. She happily did so and he turned on some tepid water. He could tell that she liked how the water touched her skin. He got some soap and lathered it on her skin, cleaning any grime that was on her. He cleaned her ears gently to not hurt her and turned on the shower head and washed all the soap off. She smelled really good and it was Ash's turn to wash up.

"Here, let me show you where you'll be staying," said Ash as they both entered his room. She looked all around and starting sniffing the floor several times. She sniffed the nightstand and the dresser and explored the area.

Ash left out of the room and went to shower. When he got out he saw Dratini coiled up on the foot of his bed. He patted her head and heard her tail thump on the bed and pulled the covers back and got in. "Sweet dreams," he said to her as he turned of the light. Ash was asleep for about five minutes tops when he heard a female voice call his name.

"Ash...Ash..."

The voice sounded nothing like his mother's and he turned on the light to see that she was indeed not in the room, rather, downstairs watching TV. He shrugged and went back to his room.

"Ash..." the voice said again. He looked down at Dratini and wondered if...

A.N. I put up a poll. Feel free to look at it. lol Thanks to all those who have sent reviews and favs!

Important!

Short update: Oh yes, and a few have asked who Ash will travel with or who his Pokemon will be. If you have any requests of whom he captures or who travels with him, please send me a PM or put your ones you like best in a review and I will put them on a poll and the five most popular will go in the story.

This request/poll will start as of now 6:44 pm Central US time zone; 0:45 Greenwich time zone. ** And end at 11:59 pm Cent. US on Wednesday 9/25.**

Thank you!


	4. Please Read Before Submitting Requests!

I have decided to add rules about the selection of Pokemon he uses and travel companions.

1) No legendaries; I like them alot, but at this early stage, it would be a bit unrealistic.

2) No enemies of Ash's can be allies; e.g., Team Rocket, Gary, Giovanni, Team Plasma, etc., cannot join him

3) Any of the _younger_ gym leaders from any region can join, such as Sabrina, Erika, Whitney, Faulkner, Mortie, Bugsy, Brawley, etc. Preferably one who is at the oldest 17 or 18. (Having someone pal around who is old enough to be parent or grandparent like Blaine, Koga, Pryce, Juan, etc. is creepy imho)

4) No elite 4 members. He can meet them in different cities, but they won't be allies/travel companion.

5) One male and one female companion. (Shipping **_may_**be possible but no yaoi/yuri)

6) No third level capture of Pokemon; for example, he can capture Pokemon with only two stages such as Arbok, Parasect, Tentacruel, etc, but _not_ a Machamp, Alakazam, Victreebel, Vileplume, etc. In other words, if it doesn't appear in wild in games, he can't capture it in story. lol

Just trying to make it realistic! c:


	5. Reflections of a Shattered Past

A.N. and Warning! This chapter contains dark elements because it describes Dratini's past and may be sad/disturbing for some viewers. Just a heads up. Moderate profanity in flashbacks and abuse. Not intended if you are sensitive to either of these. It will be the darkest/saddest chapter of the story; the rest will be happier, I promise.

"Ash..." echoed the voice through his head. He knew that it was not a human's voice, so he turned to Dratini in shock.

"Are you...no, you can't be talking; only Psychic types can talk via telepathy," stated Ash as the small dragon woke up and lay next to him.

"Well, indeed, you are right on that score, but there are some non-Psychics who are able to communicate telepathically; it is a very rare gift for not only the Pokemon, but for the trainer as well," she said to his mind.

"Why are you deciding now to talk to me through telepathy?" spoke Ash as he looked at the teal Pokemon.

"Because...you are special; there is something to you that you have not yet learned. I know what it is, but you have not yet discovered it," explained Dratini as she approached him and licked his cheek with her little tail wagging.

"How will I know?" asked Ash as he giggled at the wet tongue on his face.

"In good time, in good time," she said a lay down next to him, snuggled up in the freshly-made bed.

"Are you able to forecast the future, Dratini?" asked Ash as he patted her large head.

"No, just able to communicate via telepathy, though that would be cool if I could," she transmitted to his mind.

"I...like you a lot Ash, almost like you were one of my parents I never really knew," she said with a cute yawn.

"What happened to them, if you don't mind my asking," inquired Ash as he still massaged her semi moist head.

"Well, I was born thirty eight days ago on a hot summer day," she began as she turned her body where her back was facing Ash and looked into the darkness. "My mother and father were both Dragonairs at the Saffari Zone, and it was mating season; you see, we Dratinis hatch after just one week after our eggs have been laid. Anyways, before I had hatched, one day my mother was searching for food and spotted a fish a man with spiked hair was fishing and took the bait. She struggled furiously to get loose, but failed and was ultimately captured. My father, devastated that his mate was taken from him, took the bait and got himself captured but did not resist since he did not want to be separated by his loved one."

Ash could have sworn that his face began to tremble. Was he...actually crying?

"That's so sad, Dratini," he said as he hugged the Pokemon from behind. She accepted it by coiling her tail around his arm. "So what happened afterwards? I mean, you were just an egg when that happened."

"There was another Dragonair in the colony," she explained, "and she acted as my adopted mother. I loved her dearly, and I still think about her."

"So what made you want to get caught?" asked Ash in curiosity as he still patted her gently.

"Well, once I had turned a month old, I asked Dragonair if I could leave the colony. I wanted to see the other sites of the world, not live in the colony forever. Most of the Dratini's there choose to live there their entire lives, avoiding humans altogether, but not me. I could not wait to wait to get out and become a Dragonite one day and fly with my master. One day, this well-dressed man was fishing at the Safari Zone. He told me his name was Carl and I figured that he would be a good trainer since I sensed he had some goodness in him through my aura, but that was not the agenda he had in mind. He went back home to this mansion in this village not far off from Pallet town. Carl took me to his 14-year-old son Bobby and I sensed that he had an aura much different from his father. Of course, I became his Pokemon. Not long after I got put in my Pokeball, he took me to all his friends and bragged about how rare I was."

"Mhmm, keep going," urged Ash.

"Well, shortly afterwards, he begged for a match and so he got one. His friend sent out an Oddish and used Stun Spore on me, instantly paralyzing me. Bobby got mad that I wasn't able to dodge it. So the Oddish kept using absorb on me till I eventually fainted."

"I thought dragons had an edge over grass types," spoke Ash.

"We do, but this Oddish was probably at least 10 levels ahead of me and I did not stand much of a chance. Sure, I used Wrap and leer several times, but in the end I lost. He was infuriated and so embarrassed that such a common Pokemon was able to defeat a rare one. He felt his pride was damaged and he recalled me and returned home. Then..." Dratini's voice then became a bit stuffy because she was starting to cry.

"He beat me. He got a coat hanger and started beating me mercilessly for about 15 minutes, causing tears in my body and blood to spill, staining the carpet. I kept crying out to hopefully get him to stop, to let him gain consciousness of what he was doing, but he didn't; he shouted out names like I was a worthless piece of shit and that I should be ashamed to be a dragon type. He threw me against the wall and then picked me up and started slapping me repeatedly. I screamed the loudest I could until I heard a different voice approaching; it was his mother. She opened the door of his room and saw the scene and started screaming and crying. "_**How could you do such a thing to that poor** **creature**_!?" She slapped him across the face and pulled him by the ears and drug him out of the room and his dad saw me. 'Oh...my...Go-_**BOBBY**!_' Carl shouted and he picked me up in his arms. I heard lots of shouting and blows landing as his mom started to whip him with an extension chord to teach the brat a lesson about abusing Pokemon. Sobs echoed the house and profanity engulfed the air; I even heard him call his mother a stupid bitch and she accelerated the whipping, causing Bobby to cry and beg her to stop. I was crying in the warm loving arms of Carl and he started to cry, too. He knew he had to take action immediately, but the nearest Pokemon center was about 15 miles away. Carl he figured it would have been better to drop to a closer place: Professor Oak's lab."

She started crying and Ash patted her and kissed the back of her head to consolidate her and she let out more tears and a low "Draaaa" noise, sounding like a dragged out sob.

"That bastard," Ash thought; he never swore, but this was the most appropriate time to use a swear word he got from watching TV. "He better hope he **_never_ **meets me, or so help me..."

"Please don't ever abandon me, Ash," pleaded Dratini with tears running down. "Forever be tender with me and love me; all Pokemon need love and I need a kind-hearted person like you to help me get through these emotional scars." She continued crying and leaned her head against his shoulder and he patted her head and hugged her.

"I promise that we will become the best of friends. I promise that **_no-one_** will ever come between us." He gave her a kiss and patted her head.

"Thank you, Ash, xiexie," spoke Dratini. She nuzzled against her trainer's arms and wagged her tail.

"Aww thanks, but what did you just say, Dratini?" asked Ash a bit confused.

"What I said was 'Thank you' in Chinese," she explained.

"But this is Kanto; we're in Japan," Ash said a bit puzzled.

"Yes, but my figure mother Dragonair is actually from China; her trainer was on a holiday and visited the Safari Zone. He decided to release her because he felt it was better for her to experience life in a protected habitat versus in the city where thieves lurk," explained Dratini. "She had been captured several time by gang members and figured that a place regulated by good humans would be a much better life. She still misses him and hopes one day he will return for her."

"People today, I swear," said Ash as she shook his head. "Why do people do that?" he said rhetorically, not anticipating the young dragon to respond.

"Xiao Ash, I'm very tired, I wish to sleep, if that's ok," the Dratini said to his mind. He assured her that she could by nodding his head slowly. She closed her eyes and began to fall asleep; however, this did not last long because she moved back to her original positioned at the foot of the bed when she heard footsteps approaching the door. Delia opened the door and watched the two of them sleep.

"Isn't that precious; a boy and his first Pokemon," she said with a chuckle as she gently closed the door, causing it to creak very quietly.

Ash struggled a bit to fall asleep because Dratini's words constantly echoed through his mind. She no longer said anything and was fast asleep, but he couldn't help but wonder what had drawn the mystical Pokemon to him.

"Oh well, better get sleep for tomorrow," he thought to himself and finally closed his eyes.

A.N. If you read the part where Dratini's mom was searching for fish, in this context it would be a literal fish like a bass, carp, trout, etc; I believe that actual animals cohabit with Pokemon, since there are some scenes in the anime. How else would they have eaten lobster on the St. Anne? lmao

Oh yeah, in case you were wondering, Xiao means little, a term adressed when talking to young people in Chinese. I know it seems strange, but I wanted to incorporate a little since I'm taking chinese in school and I _love_ it! Don't get me wrong; I love a lot of aspects of Japanese culture, but I figured it'd be a little original if a small amount of Chinese was added to it. Which they did; Mienfoo and Mienshao _totally _sound Chinese. lol. Oh yeah, the winner is Riolu for the next Pokemon, so I will get to that when I can. Feel free to offer suggestions for future chapters!


	6. Ash Catches Another Friend

Yeah, so, anyways...that last chapter was kinda weird. lol. My apologies if that unnerved you a bit. I'm thinking about editing it so it won't be as graphic. Anyways, Ash catches a new Pokemon in the very near future! lol Oh yeah, and this story got over 3,000 views in 10 days! Thanks for all those who read :D

Ash woke up to one of the most amazing aromas he had ever smelt. It was fried eggs and bacon. He quickly woke up and got dressed in his standard blue jeans outfit and went downstairs to meet his mom. Dratini shortly followed him and slid down the railing of the stairs! She was very cheerful this morning and climbed up on Ash's shoulder. Delia also was putting in Pop-Tarts in the toaster and served Ash his breakfast and poured him a glass of orange juice.

"Thanks, mom," said Ash as he scarfed down the food. She giggled and placed the Pop-Tarts on the ground and Dratini began to eat them. She was happy as she ingested the strawberry-flavored pastries. Ash petted Dratini's head and his mom did as well, causing her to squeal with delight.

"So, honey, I guess that means that you will be heading to the first gym soon," said his mother as she drank some of her coffee and added some sugar to it. "You know, Pewter City is about 80 miles north of Pallet. If you're lucky, you should be there in about five days. Maybe you'll find someone to accompany you! Ooh, I'm just so proud of you!" She playfully ruffled her son's black hair, causing it to become messy.

"Stop, mom, you're embarrassing me; it's not like I just got a job promotion or straight A's," fessed Ash as he looked down at Dratini and smiled at her. She returned the gesture with a ^_^ look on her face.

"Also, before you leave, I have to give you something." She picked up something on the counter that was inside a box and handed it to Ash.

"Here is your Pokegear; it was in the shop for three days, you know! I don't want you to break it again, young man." She handed him a red device that looked similar to a Gameboy Advance SP; it had tons of buttons on it.

"Thanks, mom; I feel stupid that I broke it when I fell asleep with it in my pocket," said Ash as he sweat dropped with embarrassment.

"Well, if it breaks next time, you can use some of the money you earn to fix it," said his mom as she started to wash the dishes.

"Seems reasonable enough," said Ash as he put it in his backpack and zipped it up.

"Remember that you can always feel free to call me, sweetie," said Delia as she put the pitcher of juice back into the fridge. Dratini whimpered and Ash probably knew what that meant.

"I better get going; sounds like Dratini may need to take care of business!" said Ash as he opened the kitchen door to the front yard and let the little dragon explore the area. Ash went over to his mom and planted a kiss on her forehead. "I'll call you when I get to Viridian City!" said Ash as he waved good-bye to his mother.

The boy went outside and saw his Dratini patiently waiting for her master. He held out his arm and she got up on his shoulders. Despite being 6 feet long, the seven-pound dragon did not really slow him down. He walked out of the limits of Pallet Town and sighed. He had now entered Route 1.

"Well, I wonder when I'll walk down this road again," he said somewhat sadly; all his childhood memories were all held in this small town, and now, at ten years old, he had to embark on a new adventure to another place to become the greatest of them all!

Ash looked at his Pokegear and saw the time. It was already 11:15 in the morning, but the late summer heat was rather intense. Though he had been traveling north bound for about an hour, he felt it was much longer than that. He wiped his brow and found a tree to sit under. Ash set his backpack down next to him and stretched out his legs. He heard the grass rustle a few times, but didn't pay any attention to it.

All the sudden, a voice entered his mind.

"Ash, I'm still hungry," said the female voice of Dratini.

"Man, I should've asked mom to pack a lunch," said Ash as he rummaged through his backpack to find nothing other than clothes. A gentle breeze began to shake the branches of the tree and Ash looked up and smiled. He noticed that it was an apple tree and he shook the tree as hard as he could, but nothing fell off. Disappointed, he stopped, but luckily there was another apple tree about 10 feet away. He smiled and saw that there was another one about 10 feet away.

"Let's go try this one," suggested Ash as he and Dratini went over to the other one. He heard the rustling intensified and looked back, but saw nothing. The boy and Dratini both exerted force to the tree and managed to get about six apples fall from the tree; one of them even hit Dratini on the head!

Ash noticed that it left a small bruise on her head and he patted her very gently. "Are you ok, girl?" he asked concerned.

"Yes, Ash, I am fine, now that we have food to eat," she said to his mind. The two of them both went back to the other tree to put their fruits into the backpack when Ash saw that a Pokemon was playing with the stuff in his backpack! The creature was wagging its tail the whole time; it had a blue tail and black legs and feet.

"Hey, stop that!" shouted Ash as he ran over to his stuff. The little creature turned to Ash with a determined look on its face. It looked canine-like on hind legs; had a raccoon-like black mask on its face and the rest was blue. It had teardrop-shaped appendages that hung off its ears which Ash assumed to be ears. Ash grunted and looked at the Pokemon again. "What are you doing?" He knew it was kinda pointless to ask this because the only thing Pokemon would say is its name, but Ash was very surprised!

"I was looking for something to eat," the voice said; it sounded like a male's voice and he realized it was the Pokemon speaking to him through telepathy!

"There's an apple tree right there, and-Wait, did you just talk to me?" asked Ash confused. "Did you hear something, Dratini?"

"Yes, he used telepathy to communicate with you!" she squeaked happily and nuzzled to him.

"What are you?" said Ash and he pulled out his Pokedex.

"Riolu, the emanation Pokemon. Riolu can sense the emotions of others in the form of waves called Aura. Very, very few can communicate via telepathy."

"Sounds powerful; I should try and catch him," said Ash as he pulled out a Pokeball. "Go, Pokeball!" He aimed and with a powerful throw launched it at the Riolu. The dog-like Pokemon got absorbed into the ball and the ball fell to the ground. The ball shook once, and Riolu broke out of the ball with an angry look on his face!

"So, you wanna play tough, huh?" said Ash as he cracked a smile. "This should be interesting. Go, Dratini!"

"You got it, Ash," said Dratini through her telepathy. She jumped off his shoulder and was about 5 feet away from the Riolu.

"Lemme check your moves, Dratini," said Ash as he consulted the Pokedex.

"Dratini's moves are: Wrap, Leer, and Thunder Wave. Thunder Wave is a recommended move to inflict paralysis and prevent Pokemon from escaping."

"Sounds like a plan, but first, give it Leer!"

Dratini's eyes began to glow and she made a gesture that unnerved the Riolu. He started running really fast and released a Quick Attack on Dratini, who made a slight yelp.

"Dratini, are you ok?" asked Ash with concern.

"Yes, I'm fine," she said as she shook her head to regain her sight.

"Ok, then, give it a Thunder Wave!" commanded Ash. Riolu was preparing himself for another Quick Attack and began to head straight for Dratini.

"Got it." Dratini released a small glowing spark from her body and aimed it at Riolu. It hit him dead on and he had difficulty moving because of the paralysis. To Riolu, it felt like gravity had intensified ten-fold against his legs.

"Good, now weaken him with wrap!" said Ash. Dratini wrapped her six foot body around Riolu and applied pressure; her entire body wrapped around Riolu twice and it looked like he had on two teal inflatable tubes wrapped around.

"Please, stop! I'm begging you!" pleaded Riolu whose voice entered Ash's mind.

"Dratini, ok, let him go!" instructed Ash. She did not hesitate and let go of Riolu had fallen to his knees.

"Riolu, don't worry, I'll feed you well because you're coming with me! Pokeball, go!" He lunged the ball at the Pokemon and he got sucked up into it. The ball bounced to the ground and it shook three times, followed by a "click" noise.

"Alright, I caught a Riolu!" said Ash as he picked up the ball and gave Dratini a hug.

"Good job, Ash-kun, I knew you could do it!" Said Dratini as she licked his cheek.

"_You _did it; you weakened him to be caught," said Ash as he patted her head.

"We **_both_ **did," she said as curled around him and sighed. "Where is the nearest Pokemon center, Ash? I'm a little tired."

"It's in Viridian City, and I do have a few Potions," said Ash as he took out a medicine bottle from his backpack and sprayed it on the little dragon's wound.

"Thank you, Ash," she thanked him, "I feel so much better now. What about Riolu? Are you going to give him some medicine?"

"Well, he's paralyzed, I don't have anything to help him with that," explained Ash as he put the half-used potion in his backpack. "We better find the Pokemon center soon."

A.N. Who should Ash catch next? And who will join him? Find out in the upcoming chapters!


	7. The Lake of Doom

I should've closed the poll when I was supposed to; I just now realized that Scyther was number one. lol. This story will _partially_ follow the anime; I will leave out any scenes which I find unnecessary to the plot. lol. Also, Ash will meet the mysterious female companion.

Ash looked down at his Pokeball and felt kinda bad for paralyzing Riolu; he just wanted to catch a new Pokemon!

"Viridian City is still a good distance away, and I wonder if we can make it before sundown," said Ash as he looked down at Dratini who gave him a smile. "Well, better get moving." He clipped the Pokeball on his belt and held out his arm which Dratini climbed up. He was pretty used to the serpent-like dragon lying across his shoulders, and he liked the cool slime skin she had.

They left the comfort of the shade of the tree and began walking north bound to Viridian city. The distance between Viridian City and Pallet Town was about 25 miles, and towns of grassland and scattered forest as well as some low mountains isolated the two locations from one another. Ash wished he had a bicycle, but truth be told, he never _**learned** _how to ride one. It was quite a shame that at ten years old that he could not ride one. His father was always busy with his job in a distant country and his mom did not know how to ride one either.

As the time passed, the temperature began to increase, and Ash was finding it increasingly difficult to keep moving since he was already pouring with sweat. Unfortunately, there weren't any clouds, so he had to endure the brutal heat of the late summer.

So he kept advancing. Ash saw a few dark clouds pass enter the sky from the east and he saw them approaching fast. "Maybe it's supposed to rain again?" theorized Ash as he directed his attention to the path ahead of him. He walked for about another hour and finally saw something: a stream. Ash was pleased at the small body of water and saw that it got wider as it transformed into a lake.

"Wanna go swimming?" gestured Ash as he looked at the little dragon. She shook her head yes and dove into the water with one of the smallest splash, causing a small ripple that gently disturbed the flat, calm surface of the lake. He took off his clothes until he was in his boxers and jumped in, being careful to keep an eye on his belongings and the ball that had Riolu. He loved the way the water felt against his body and Dratini was swimming around real fast, occasionally jumping out of the water and doing flips.

Ash saw some water Pokemon underneath him and smiled at them. He wanted to catch a water Pokemon because they had an edge where Dragons did not: ice. Dratini kept swimming around and as splashed Ash by slapping her tail against the surface of the water. He smirked and splashed her playfully and they both giggled. However, this stopped as something sharp abruptly hit Ash's foot, sending a sharp pain.

"Dratini, did you hit me with your ears?" asked Ash. Her ears were scaly like a fish's fin, so it could've been possible for her ear to scratch him by mistake. Ash looked down into the water and saw that his foot was bleeding slightly!

"No, Ash, I did not," she said as she shook her head slightly. She looked down into the water and saw that it was turning slightly red. "Are you ok, Ash?!"

"I don't know; I'd better check it out at the shore," he said as he started to swim towards the shore. He had about 10 meters to swim until he reached the shore then he heard a furious roar. It was getting closer and closer to him and he saw what it was a **_huge_ **snake-like Pokemon that had a blue body and large fangs. Ash guessed it was about 20 feet long, at least, and he was cowering in fear. He saw that on the top of its body near its head it had some sharp looking fins; Ash noticed one of them had a bit of red on it from where he got cut.   


"What is that thing?!" shouted Ash in a panic as he was paralyzed with fear.

"That's...a Gyarados..." said Dratini, who was shaking in panic. "There was one at the Safari Zone who evolved from a very friendly Magikarp...still, he was friendly, but the sheer size could cause anyone to panic," she said very hastily and started whimpering.

Ash looked down at his foot and noticed that his foot was bleeding profusely. He gasped and started to swim but he could not keep himself moving as he felt his body being drained of energy. The cut on his foot must have been worse than he thought and he was slowly losing his consciousness.

"Ash, please try to hang in there!" urged Dratini faintly to his mind as she swam up to him. Her voice seemed to reverberate throughout his mind and it was getting increasingly difficult to make out what she was saying. "Here, grab my body; I'll help you swim to safety!" He put an arm around her tender body and she began to swim as fast as she could but the Gyarados was approaching swiftly, letting out a furious roar to let them know its atrocious strength. Ash felt his vision black out, and noticed that they were about 2 meters from the shore, but he felt he wasn't going to make it. He had to make sure the Pokemon were safe, especially Riolu; it would be terrible if something were to happen to Ash and the Riolu who was still paralyzed.

Though Ash's vision was failing him, he saw on the shore a female throw out a Pokeball and a flash of light appeared, sending out a Pokemon he had never seen before.

"Please...help me..." Ash said weakly.

"Don't worry, kid, I'll help save you!" she said concerned and grabbed his hand and pulled him to shore. Dratini was wrapping her tail against the wound to prevent more blood from spilling out. "Come one out,-" said the human female and that was the last Ash heard.

Cliff hanger, right? lol. I wanted to change it up a bit and I thought of the time when Ash got fished out and there was a Gyarados in the lake/pond. That was where the idea of this chapter came from. Feel free to send reviews!


	8. The Mysterious Girl and The Road Ahead

A.N. 6600+ views in less than 20 days makes me excited!

Ash slowly regained his consciousness and opened his eyes at a sluggish pace. He carefully checked his surroundings and looked to see what was going on. He saw a female figure hovering over him and gave him a somewhat blunt smile. Ash looked down at his feet and saw that it had been wrapped up with some black fabric to stop the bleeding. Even though it had stopped, he still felt somewhat light-headed. Dratini was coiled up and looked at Ash and sighed.

"You've finally came to your senses," she said as she approached him. The human female reached out a hand to pat Dratini's head but the smal dragon slapped her hand out of the way with her tail, causing the girl to gasp out of shock.

"Where...where...am I?" asked Ash confused as he still looked around the area. He looked down and saw that he was still in his boxers and turned a deep crimson red in embarrassment since he was almost nude. The girl giggled. He looked and saw her: she had shoulder-length blue hair with a red headband and was wearing a green and white dress with a small bow on her chest, close to her heart.

"Your Pokemon has a lot of energy," she giggled. Ash was still a crimson red since he was in the presence of a beautiful girl; she did look a few years older than he, maybe about five. "I was so worried that you were not going to regain consciousness; you were out cold for about 30 minutes. Do you remember what happened?"

Ash obtained the strength and was able to sit up and look at the girl who now had gotten on her haunches so her eye level would match his more or less.

"I-I-I..." said Ash with a dry voice as he struggled to speak.

"Here, drink some fresh spring water; you need to remain hydrated on a day like this," she stated as she handed him a canteen. He opened it and took a few large gulps and felt his voice return to normality.

"Thanks," he responded as he wiped his mouth with his arm. "I was swimming with my Pokemon and saw large creature called a Gyarados attacked us. Its fin must've sliced my foot opened."

"Luckily, my grass Pokemon have leaves with healing powers. I used them to help treat your wound and tore of a piece of cloth from my socks and wrapped it around your wound as a hemostat. You should be lucky that I was here otherwise you may have died," said the girl.

"What about the Gyarados?"

"I defeated it with one of my grass types," she said triumphantly. "We should take you to the nearest doctor and let them have a look at your foot to be safe," she added as she pointed down at his foot.

"But Viridian City is quite a ways," added Ash. "I also have to help my Pokemon Riolu I just caught. He's paralyzed and fairly weak...We gotta get him to a center fast!"

"We can do that, but I have a quick solution," replied the girl with a warm smile.

"By the way, what is your name? I'd like to know the name of the person who saved me, after all," commented Ash. "I don't know if I can walk real far with my foot like this..."

"Erika, name's Erika," added the girl with a smile. "And don't worry; I know a way we can get there much faster versus going on foot."

"How?" inquired Ash as he looked down at Dratini and then his Pokeball with Riolu in it. He knew the little aura Pokemon was in pain from still being in paralysis, and he didn't want the poor creature have to suffer any longer than necessary.

"A freight train comes around one o'clock here going north bound to Viridian City; they usually have vacant box cars and we can climb into one."

"But, won't the train be moving too fast?" he inquired.

"With the help of my Pokemon, it'll be no problem; besides, they only move at about 15 to 20 miles per hour," she reassured as she stood back up. "Here; you get dressed and I will help you get your shoe on.''

She went to a small forest not to far away and began exploring it while Ash began to slowly put on his clothes.

"Well, she seems nice, I think," said Ash as he slid on his jeans. He was completely dry after lying in the sun for about a full half hour. Dratini went to his backpack and grabbed it with her mouth and drug it to him. "Thanks, girl," he said as he patted her slimy head. He then put on his shirt and jacket and waited for Erika to come back. He waited for about five minutes and he saw her return with her arms full of different fruits, or so it seemed.

"Here, I got some Cheri berries and Oran berries; the Cheri berry will help cure paralysis and the Oran berry will restore lost health," she explained as she gently laid them on the ground.

"Ok, come on out, Riolu!" commanded Ash as he threw the ball to the ground, causing the little aura Pokemon to appear. "Let me feed you some of those berries; they will help you with paralysis and heal you." He picked up the blue and black Pokemon and fed it a red Cheri berry. Riolu opened his mouth and chewed on it slowly, savoring the flavors of the spicy berry. It was relatively soft and easy to digest. Once he finished chewing the berry, the Pokemon swallowed it, and almost instantaneously sprung to his feet with a "Rio!".

"Wow, that sure worked!" said Ash excited as he pet the Riolu's head, but the little Pokemon did not return the feelings; instead, he slapped Ash's hand away and folded his arms into his chest and made an apparent scoff sound.

"I said I was sorry for paralyzing you, Riolu!" explained Ash as he held out his hand. "Truce?" He even held out an Oran berry as a peace offering. The little aura Pokemon held out his snout and started sniffing it rapidly and grabbed it with his little paws. He chewed it and liked the flavor of it, but he turned his back to Ash again.

"Aw, come on..." said Ash a bit disappointed.

"He just needs time; all Pokemon have different personalities and it takes a while before they get used to their trainers," stated Erika as she put her hand on Ash's shoulder. "We better go wait by the train tracks for when it comes so we can get to Viridian City as fast as possible." He nodded and absorbed Riolu back into his ball.

Erika held out her hand wrapped Ash's left arm around her neck to lend him support and she put her right arm around his torso and Ash began to walk awkwardly. Dratini was even polite enough to jump off Ash before Erika put her arm on him so the additional weight wouldn't bother him. Since it was his right foot that had been damaged, he would had to support his weight on the left one, but since that seemed virtually impossible, he would have to hobble around on one foot, hopping on his left one. After about 15 minutes of awkwardness and a few stumbles, they finally managed to get there. As if on cue, they heard a faint whistling and a engine chugging in the far distance.

"Well, I hear it coming, but what are we gonna do?" asked Ash as he lay on the ground for a second.

"This," she said as she took out a Pokeball. "Go, Weepinbell!" She threw the ball away from her so it would be closer to the position of the oncoming train. The pokeball impacted the ground and a yellow flower-like thing popped out. It had two green leaves on its side and a brown steam on its head. "Use vine whip on that iron rod inside the train!"

"Bellll," it responded in a deep voice and let loose some vines which got hold of a thick iron bar inside the boxcar. Erika and Ash were each about eight feet from the train tracks so they could be in distance for what Erika planned.

"Weepinbell, send back your vines and grab me and Ash!" said Erika to the flower Pokemon. It nodded and let out four vines, two grabbing each of them. Dratini quickly jumped on Ash's shoulder and the flower Pokemon carefully pulled them in at a good pace and they landed in the boxcar.

"Good girl, Weepinbell, return for now," smiled Erika as she aimed the red beam at the Pokemon.

"We should probably be in Viridian City in about an hour," she added as she looked at Ash concerned. "Here, have some lunch." She offered him a few of the berries she gathered earlier and he eagerly accepted them.

"Tell me a bit about yourself, Erika," inquired Ash as he took a bit of the Oran berry.

"Well, it's kind of a long story, but it will make the journey faster," she began.

A.N. Sorry for the long time it took to update. Busy with school. I was originally going to do Sabrina, but imo, she seemed kinda agoraphobic in her demeanor; like she wouldn't want much to do with socialization, rather, hone her skills. I liked Erika a lot in the anime and that's why I chose her. Sorry if I happened to disappoint anyone.


	9. Erika's Past and Riolu's Change of Heart

Thanks for all the 61 people who have so added this story to favorites! You all rock! And if the characters see too...uh, predictable, for lack of better word, tell how I should improve! (=

Ash took some of the berries and began to eat some. He could not believe how spicy the Cheri berry was. It tasted surprisingly good despite the burning sensation it left behind. He ate a little bit of apple and used it to help cool his taste buds.

"Anyways, the name is Erika and I'm from Celadon City. I'm a trainer like yourself and came to route 1 because there is an outbreak of some Pokemon from different regions in the western side of the region. Reports are nearly certain that the Pokemon they found don't normally appear in Kanto. As you have seen from my Pokemon, I utilize primarily grass, but the large outbreak piqued my interest and was hoping that there would be some new variations of grass types. I have become infatuated with the grass types since I was a little girl. I'll keep it short and sweet; I was walking home and tried to save an injured Skitty, got attacked by a Weezing, and was saved by Gloom. I asked her if she wanted to come with me and she said yes. Since then, I owe practically everything to these wondrous grass-types."

"That's such a touching story, it really is," commented Ash as he patted Dratini's head. Erika nodded and looked down at the small dragon who was gazing out the boxcar. "I never had a Pokemon until I got Dratini, and we've been inseparable since then."

"You are quite lucky to have a Dragon-type this early in your journey; did you go to the Safari Zone to get her?" asked Erika as she watched the dark clouds start to cover the sky. "Very few people have that type of Pokemon this early in their journey; most people generally have at least five badges before getting one, or at least go to the Safari Zone to fine one."

"Well, I actually got her from Professor Oak; she belonged to an abusive trainer and she showed an instant attraction to me; it was honestly quite strange, if you ask me; that a Pokemon, nonetheless one so rare, took an instant liking to me," explained Ash as he rubbed the small dragon.

"That is indeed strange, but you are awfully lucky; once she turns to a Dragonite, you will have a formidable ally in your party," explained Erika. "Are you aware of the strengths and weaknesses of a dragon type, Ash?"

"Well, I do know that they are strong against grass attacks, but that's about it," explained Ash. "I am not entirely sure if dragon attacks are effective against other types, though."

"You are right about grass types; maybe I should allow you to find out their strengths on your own," suggested Erika.

"That may be a good idea; do you know anything about the first gym leader in Pewter City, Erika?" asked Ash as he looked down at his foot. It was nowhere near as painful as it was before, but it definitely need the attention of a doctor.

"All I can say is that you better get Riolu to trust you before you take on the challenge there," replied Erika as she leaned her back against the metal wall of the boxcar and took an Oran berry.

"Have you had any success finding any Pokemon?" Ash stated as he looked into the fast-moving world; the entire sky had completely been covered with grey clouds and he saw a flash of lightning in the background over the rolling hills.

"I did see some Pokemon that I was not familiar with, but none of them were interesting from my perspective; lots of normal-types and bird Pokemon," contested Erika as a roll of thunder shook their ear drums.

"Looks like we need to need to move fast when we get off so we don't get wet or that wound could get infected," she added as the rain started pounding the roof of the boxcar.

Ash lay down and Erika did the same in separated corners of the car, about 20 feet apart. They figured they still had about 30 plus minutes and would hopefully wake up when the train finally reached the station in Viridian City. Erika soundly fell asleep and started to snore softly and Ash knew that he could then talk to his Pokemon without Erika inquiring how he is able to understand his Pokemon or anything on that score.

"Dratini, you seem really upset; wanna tell me what's on your mind?" asked Ash as he looked deep into the Pokemon's soft, large black eyes.

"Ash, I am really worried about your foot; what if it got infected and you need surgery?" transmitted Dratini to Ash's mind. He look at his female dragon and said.l

"Let's try to stay positive; any negative thoughts will dampen my mood; I'm hoping it's nothing minor and we can keep moving to Pewter City in no time," responded Ash as he looked outside to the drenched surroundings. The rain had really picked up quite a lot in the past few minutes and brought a humid, unpleasant feeling to the atmosphere. Although the temperature had probably dropped somewhere in the range of 78 degrees versus the 90 that was beating down on him earlier, the high humidity did not bring much relief.

Time seemed to drag an hour's duration far longer than one could imagine; with that leg patched up and slightly bleeding, every second counted. Ash's vision gazed deep into nothingness, looking for ways to make time go faster. He looked out and saw a sign that said "Viridian City, 3.5 miles". He knew that there was not much time left until they reached their destination. Ash did some mental calculations; if Erika was right that the average train goes around 15 miles per hour, it would then take at most 14 minutes. He took out an apple and bit into it and Dratini have the rest. She smiled to lighten the mood and began to "talk".

"Ash, Erika says that Riolu would be a good choice at the Pewter Gym. It wouldn't hurt to try to get him to warm up to you," she suggested.

"How? He will probably just slap me again," retorted Ash with a small scoff.

"You won't know until you try," she replied with a strong sense of confidence.

"Well, I guess I could use these last 10 minutes to help talk to him; it's not like he's gonna go anywhere with a moving train, after all," he said. He took out the Pokeball and Riolu popped out.

"What do you want, human? I do not wish to engage in pointless chatter," said Riolu through telepathy in a frustrated and almost cold tone; evidently he wanted to remain in the confines of the red and white sphere. He showed his lack of interest to the raven-haired boy by turning his back to him!

"Look, Riolu, I don't know why you're acting so vicious after I tried to be kind with you," started Ash, "but you need to understand that I'm your trainer and I wanna be your friend. I'm putting in my effort, now you just gotta meet me half-way, if you want to. After all, you _do _detect the feelings of others; doesn't my sorrow and regret for putting you through that pain for that prolonged period of time make you feel anything? Just have a heart, I'm begging you!"

Riolu turned around and faced Ash; the Pokemon's appendages on its ears began to move and took in the pulses of Ash's aura and analyzed them. A small whimper escaped Ash and he felt like he was almost about to cry. Dratini, who was coiled up but heard the conversation nonetheless, turned to the little aura Pokemon with a determined look on her face.

"Why do you persist on acting so crass to our trainer?" communicated Dratini to Riolu through telepathy.

"Oh! You also know telepathy?" question the amazed Riolu.

"Yes, but don't change the subject; why do you seem to carry a grudge against Ash? Can't you sense his feelings that he just wants to be friends with you?"

Riolu perked his ears and saw that Ash was actually...crying. The Riolu couldn't believe that someone would regard him with that much admiration and would humbly beg forgiveness! It was in a sense flattering, but also demeaning that he would stoop to so low to **_beg _**for his feelings.

"That human...er, I mean, _**Ash**_**, **is practically beating himself up for beating me up," pondered Riolu and Dratini gasped.

"You're making it sound like **_he_ **personally beat you; it was **_I_**who beat you up; we Pokemon must be loyal to our trainers. Does the dog really have to question its master why it retrieves the stick he just threw? Same principal!"

"I guess you're right...but it's so hard to trust people after what happened to me..." stated Riolu.

"What happened?"

"I don't wanna talk about it...maybe after we learn more of each other," stated Riolu who walked up to Ash. The boy was still pretty upset despite having already stopped crying. "Look, human-uh, no, no. Forgive me. I mean, Ash. I took into deep consideration your words as well as those of Dratini and I've come to the decision after thinking. I'm willing to start over. If we could start from the beginning...I'm open to giving you another chance, and find a place for you in my heart as well as yours."

Ash sniffled one more time and looked at the little bipedal aura canine. He wiped his cheek off and turned to Riolu. "D-do you mean that?" said Ash with raised spirits.

"Yes, I do," said Riolu. "I had a rough start before I met you and it's hard to regain trust after what I went through."

"I won't fail you, Riolu!" stated Ash excitedly as he picked up his small Pokemon and brought him into a hug. Riolu first started to resist by pushing against his trainer, but he felt the warm sensation of the hug and the elated aura the human was transmitting. It felt pleasant to hear the boy's heart pick up and the beating echoed all around Riolu like a soft tune. The blue and black Pokemon wagged his little blue tail happily. He then wiggled his body and that signaled Ash to put him down.

"That was...unexpected," said Riolu. "That does not makes us bff's...at least, not this early."

"I understand. Are you hungry again, Riolu? Have some apple." Ash took out another apple and showed it to Riolu. He sniffed it and his cold wet nose even touched Ash's fingers! The boy giggled and Riolu grabbed the fruit with his small hands and took a bite out of it.

"Mmmm, so juicy and sweet; a very refreshing snack," he stated as he wagged his tail. In about 20 seconds, he ate all that could fill him and set the fruit down and showed it to Dratini, who sniffed the apple before taking a bite. After she finished the rest, she played with the apple core by flicking it with her tail across the boxcar several times till it accidentally flew out. Instead of landing in a huge body of mud, it landed on asphalt. Ash looked and saw that they were now traveling through the city and that they would soon arrive.

"


	10. A Doctor's Visit and the Pokemon Center

A.N. Thanks for reading! I promise that the story will contain more action soon; I will add a new friend soon for Ash to catch! Also, this story will deviate from a realistic situation when Ash goes to the hospital. For example, sending a kid straight in to get stitches without any documentation or anything on that score! It's fiction after all. Lol (Plus I'm too lazy to do research about what they need to fill out) Anyways, enjoy!

The screeching halt of the train pierced the ears of Ash, Erika, Dratini, and Riolu. Ash recalled Riolu back into his ball and clipped the ball to his hip. Erika jumped off the train and noticed that getting Ash down would be far too difficult without the assistance of someone. She released Weepinbell again who let loose two green vines from her side of her body and wrapped them around Ash. She gently lowered Ash to the platform who let out a low moan from the pressure that he applied to his foot.

"Are you ok, Ash?" responded Erika as she wrapped her arm around the boy. And they were walking down the platform when they came across a tall, bulky figure.

"Hey! What are you two kids doing riding in the back?! You know freight hopping is illegal and-Erika? Is that you?"he asked as he gave the blue-haired girl a careful look.

"We had a major accident and this boy's foot got sliced opened, and-" began Erika who was interrupted.

"Wait, how does he know your name?" asked a puzzled Ash.

"Later, Ash. Anyways, his foot needs to be taken care of; it got cut by a Gyarados when he was swimming!" Ash took off his shoe and saw that it was completely drenched in blood. The guard winced at how painful it looked and raised his vision to the two humans.

"I'll contact a security van to escort you to the nearest doctor; I'll let you both go this **_once,_**but you two should be grateful that I'm not throwing you both into jail; if this were to enter the media, your image would be ruined, Erika!" he pointed out sternly as he punched in some numbers into a phone.

"An escort will arrive momentarily; hang in there until then," calmly urged the guard. The two trainers sat down on a bench so he wouldn't be on his foot and cause any further pain.

"I'm sorry, but you will more than likely have to get stitches," pointed out Erika with a small frown. "I bet it would be a lot worse than it already is if I hadn't helped."

"I can't believe this is actually happening to me," muttered Ash. "I just wanted to become a trainer and already things look sour."

"You didn't know that Gyarados was going to do that, so you shouldn't blame yourself," said Erika. She raised her head up and saw that a vehicle was approaching. It was a small security cart that could hold only two occupants. With the help of Erika, the man was able to carry him to the cart. The cart was awfully small and by no means could Dratini fit her long body into it.

"I'm sorry, Dratini, but I have to put you in your ball for now," spoke Ash as he took it out of his Pokeball. "I'll let you out when I get through at the doctor's."

She did not resist and got absorbed into her Pokeball.

"What about you, Erika?" inquired Ash with a concerned tone in his voice.

"I'm going to the Pokemon center to get out of the rain; plus I gotta heal my Pokemon after fighting Gyarados," she added. "You should go there, too, after you get checked out! They have a nice cafeteria in the basement!"

"Ok, sounds like a plan," said Ash. The security guard closed the door of the small cart and they drove off.

The ride to the doctor's was not long and it was quiet. The guard asked Ash about his foot and he gave him the brief version of it, and afterward the two remained silent. After about a ten minute drive in the heavy rain, they finally arrived to the hospital.

"So, here we are, I'll go fetch a doctor and have them look at you ASAP," said the guard as he left the boy alone. Ash took the opportunity to tell his mother of what was going on; he did promise he'd call once he arrived to Viridian City, but hopefully with better circumstances.

"Mom, are you there?" started Ash.

"Ash? Honey, where are you? Surely you haven't gotten to Viridian City already?" she asked rhetorically since she believed her own thoughts would answer the question.

"Actually, I am, Mom," he said with a sulky voice. "I got here faster than expected because...well, there's been an accident..."

"What happened? Please, honey, don't keep back any details."

Ash took about a full minute to give her the verdict and she sounded like she was about to cry.

"Do you need me to come and get you? I don't mind at all, honey," she replied sweetly to her son.

"I appreciate the offer, mom, but I have found a traveling companion; her name is Erika and she seems fairly nice," he explained.

"Well, if you insist. You're just growing up so fast! Just tell them to mail the hospital bill to our house and I will take care of it, ok?" she said cheerfully.

"What if it's too much?" he asked worriedly.

"Our insurance will take care of it," she answered. Ash looked and saw that a female doctor appeared with a wheel-chair. "The doctor's come, I'll talk to you later." he closed the Pokegear and opened the door to the security cart and sat down on the wheel-chair. He was pushed into the doctor's office and went into a room. A tall male doctor looked at Ash and had a clipboard, scribbling down notes and stuff.

"So, Ash, I've been told that you were attacked by a wild Gyarados while swimming, which caused this laceration on your foot, am I correct?" he asked as he pointed at Ash's blood-dripping foot. The doctor got some towels prepared as Ash took off his shoe and the material of them was saturated with a serosanguinous fluid. The dripping was not overly severe (about that of a minor nosebleed) and he managed to lift his foot up and set it on a stool while still remained seated in the wheel-chair.

The doctor wiped off a large portion of the blood and got some hydrogen peroxide soaked rags and cleaned the area. Ash began to howl in pain as the solution began to cleanse the exposed flesh on his foot. The doctor analyzed the patient again and put his hand on his chin.

"This wound will require stitches; I will have to call in an anesthesiologist in to numb you while I operate," explained the Doctor.

"How long will the operation last?" inquired Ash.

"Based on this wound, and the amount of experience I have, it shouldn't take any longer than, say, 10 minutes; you will receive short term anesthesia on your foot; do you wish to be sedated or not?" asked the Doctor. He helped pick up Ash and the boy was on an examination table. The doctor pulled out some absorbable sutures and a few other tools.

"Awake would be better; could I lie on my stomach or stay on my back?" asked Ash.

"Back would be better since it would be easier to operate on," suggested the Doctor. Ash obeyed and lay down and closed his eyes. The anesthesiologist arrived and numbed his foot.

The doctor began to work on the foot, sewing the tissue together and ensuring that no bacteria or germs would infect the area. Ash was in dream land, picturing himself at the Pokemon League. Before long, he felt a shaking and opened his eyes to see that it was the doctor.

"Your foot is sewn up; we advise using crutches for a day or so to keep pressure off your foot," said the Doctor. And also, we have something to give to you from someone."

He held out a box towards Ash and he opened it. It was a pair of shoes, exactly identical to the ones he had. There was a card inside that read,

"Ash, I would like to tag along with you on your journey. Hopefully, you will be up and on your feet in no time. Be sure to meet me at the Pokemon center once you get out."

Erika

He smiled and saw that next to the shoes was a clean pair of socks. He slid them on over his feet and then did the same with his shoes. The doctor handed him some crutches and Ash signed a few papers. He released Ash and advised him to keep the area well cleaned and to not walk on it for a day or two. The stitches would dissolve in about five days.

Ash headed out of the doctor's building and the rain had stopped. It had actually turned a bright blue with a few grey clouds heading eastwards. Ash saw that across the parking lot was the Pokemon center. He took out his ball and released Dratini.

"Come on out now, girl!" he said, excited to see his Pokemon join his side again.

The teal serpent was very happy to come out of the ball and made a high-pitch squeal to show how happy she was.

"We're going to the Pokemon center now; I need you to make sure I don't fall, ok?" he asked. "Your body is solid muscle; if I fall, I want you to use your body as a cushion to reduce the impact, ok?"

"Sure thing, Ash," she said as she wagged her tail. The Pokemon center was only about 300 feet away. They reached there in about two minutes, Ash skillfully using his crutches to support himself. It was not the first time he had to use them; once at eight, he broke his heel from tripping over a log when camping with his father, so having already been exposed to them gave him an edge in using them. The electronic doors of the Pokemon Center opened and they saw the figure of a blue-haired girl.

"Erika!"

"Ash, thank goodness you're ok!" she responded as she approached him. "I was so worried that you would make it out today, but you put my mind at ease when you walked through those doors. How is your foot feeling?"

"Surprisingly, it doesn't hurt. I just gotta use these crutches for a short while and then I can walk again," he explained as he sat down at a table.

"Here, I went down to the cafeteria and got some food; I'm sure you want something different to eat other than just apples and berries!" she chuckled politely as she sat down a bowl of warm miso soup in front of him. She also placed a small portion of chicken and steamed broccoli and carrots. He looked across and saw that she had a small portion of seaweed and shrimp salad. She gave the boy a bottle of water while she drank some grape juice in a bottle.

"The food is very good here," Ash stated.

"Indeed, and one of the better things about Pokemon centers is that trainers get to stay in a room for one night free," she commented as she ingested her food. "You should go heal your Pokemon after you finish eating and you can settle down in a room. I'm getting pretty tired and could use a nap."

"Same here; thanks so much for the food, Erika, and the shoes!" said Ash as he got up and went over to a counter behind which a pink-haired woman stood.

"Welcome to the Viridian City Pokemon Center. May I heal your injured party?" she asked very calmly and politely.

"Yes ma'am, and I would also like to stay in one of the rooms tonight," added Ash.

"Certainly; please return your Dratini to its ball and I will need to see identity before I give you a key to a room," she added gently as she took both Pokeballs of Ash and took them to a machine. She pressed several buttons which then caused a soft humming noise and the machine started flashing a dim light. Then the humming stopped and she took the two balls off the machine. She handed them back to Ash and he held his Pokedex to her.

"Your Pokemon are in prime form now; ah, yes, a Pokedex!" She pressed a button and the Pokedex stated that it belonged to Ash Ketchum and could not be replaced if lost or stolen. "Here you go, room number 4 is where you will be staying. It's in that direction." She pointed to Ash's right and saw several wooden doors. He put the key in his pocket and walked over to the room and opened it by turning the knob after introducing its key. He opened the room and saw it was about 14 by 14 feet. It was fairly nice; it had a queen size bed and a few chairs with a table against the wall. He took out his Pokeball and let out Dratini and Riolu.

"Hey guys, looks like we're going to be staying here for the night so my foot can rest a bit; also, I think the weather may get bad again. We will head to Viridian Forest thing tomorrow!" he said confidentially.

"What about your foot? Will you be ok to go through the forest with your crutches?" asked Riolu a bit confused.

"It'll be fine; I'll manage," replied Ash. "I am determined to get to Pewter City in two days and get my first badge!"

"I will help you fight with all I got, Ash!" exclaimed Dratini excitedly as she went over to her trainer and licked his cheek. He giggled and patted her head, causing her to squeak cheerfully.

"What about you, Riolu? Are you gonna give it your best shot?" asked Ash as he looked at the little aura Pokemon look at his face.

"Yes, yes, I will, _master_," he nodded with a small wag in his tail.

"Good; I don't know about you guys, but I'm beat," said Ash with a huge yawn. He turned off the light of the room and got into the comfy bed.

Next chapter preview...

Ash and Erika enter Viridian Forest and Ash catches a new Pokemon. Also, they encounter a duo of rivals who want to steal his rare Pokemon!


	11. Enter Viridian Forest: Lurking Predator

A.N. Yay! This story has gotten a lil over 9,000 views this month so far! Shout out to all the people who regularly read/review! Anybody playing X or Y? I got it at my grandparents house (which is where I am as of typing this chapter, lol) but I **LEFT MY DS AT HOME!** *Sighs* Sorry, needed to vent slightly. Anyways, enjoy the chapter! And tell any friends who like Pokemon fanfic!

The morning light beamed through the window of Ash's room and he quickly opened his eyes to greet the new day. He saw that Dratini was coiled up by his feet on the bed and Riolu had slept on the couch. The boy stretched his arms out wide and released a huge yawn.

"Morning, Ash, how are you?" transmitted Dratini to Ash's mind.

"Doing pretty well; how about yourself?" he responded as he reached out to pet the Pokemon's head.

"Fine; this bed isn't as soft as yours, but I did manage to sleep well," she said as she stretched her body out.

"How about you, Riolu? How was it like to sleep outside your Pokeball for a change?" asked the raven-haired pre-adolescent male.

"Pretty good; if you don't mind, I'd like to stay out a bit more," said the little aura Pokemon telepathically as he stretched out his short arms and yawned, showing his short, yet very sharp, canine teeth.

"Let's go find Erika and see about getting some breakfast," suggested Ash as he put his jacket on and his shoes. His foot was surprisingly not hurting that much, so he figured he would attempt to stand on the foot to see if he would be ok to walk on it. He put his foot down and immediately jumped back at the excruciating pain that went straight to the area. He feel down and the bed absorbed all his impact. Riolu ran up to Ash and jumped on the bed. Both he and Dratini looked down at their trainer and used their strength to help him sit up.

"Thanks, guys; I guess I'm definitely not ready to walk on this foot yet," commented Ash as he grabbed his crutches. He made his way to the door and saw Erika was casually talking with Nurse Joy. Ash skillfully used his crutches and made his way to the blue-haired female.

"Morning, Ash and friends, how are you doing this morning?" she asked as she went down to a nearby couch. There was a couch with a table and another identical couch across from it. Ash made his way to the couch and sat across from here and sighed.

"Something wrong?" she asked as she looked down at his foot then brought her eyes back to his.

"Again, just upset about my foot," he murmured as he looked at various trainers enter the Pokemon center with their hurt allies. "Here, they can treat Pokemon on the spot; but here I am having to wait a week, probably, for this to heal."

"You need to accept the fact that you **_could _**have died; this slight setback shouldn't hinder your dream," reassured Erika as she got up. "I'm going to get us some breakfast; any special requests or allergies?"

"I have no allergies, so anything will be good," responded Ash. "Also, if they have any Pop-Tarts, that would be great."

"Ok, I'll be back soon," said Erika and in a brief moment she disappeared from his view.

"So, what's today's agenda?" asked Riolu as he got off the couch to stretch his joints. Dratini got on the other couch and extended her full body, the tip of her tail touching the arm rest on one end and her ears touching the other end. Her face was directly looking at Ash with a rather blank look.

"Well, after breakfast, we're going to Viridian Forest and maybe catch a different Pokemon," started Ash. "We have to go through that route in order to get to Pewter City. Riolu, I'm going to be training you today because Erika gave me a tip that you would be a better match against the leader."

"Got it; can't wait to get some exercise and level up," he said with an optimistic tone in his voice; his tail confirmed his current demeanor since it was playfully wagging on the couch.

"I won't leave you out, Dratini; you'll _both_ be in for some training, so be sure to eat a hearty meal," explained Ash. They both nodded.

"I should probably call Mom and let her know I'm ok," he added as he opened the Pokegear. He rang her numbered and she answered it before the second tone rang.

"Ash, sweetie, I'm so glad you called me!" said his mother with a perky lilt in her voice. "But, I am a bit worried about you. Did you finally get to a doctor?"

"Yes, he stitched up my foot," he explained. "It hurts to walk on it, but I will be okay, mom."

"That's great Ash-not about your foot, that is, but you managed to take care of the situation yourself with the help of...what is her name again?" asked Delia.

"Erika," he shortly answered.

"What does she look like?" requested his mom.

"Short blue hair, green and white dress. Why?"

"Wait, that girl sounds awfully familiar! Is she-" began Delia, but Ash was not fully paying attention because Ash directed his attention to the girl with a large tray of food.

"Speaking of which, she has come back," said Ash, "and she brought food."

"Well, isn't that sweet, enjoy your breakfast, dear," said Delia.

"Mom, what were you about to say until I interrupted?" asked Ash interested.

"Oh, don't worry, it is nothing really important; just enjoy your breakfast dear," she replied sweetly.

"Ok, mom, I'll call you when I get to Pewter City," stated Ash with a small nod to the Pokegear.

"Ok, I'll wait for your call then. Thank you calling me, it was very sweet. I gotta get started on the yard work. Quite a lot of weeds have sprouted from the rain shower." And with that she hung up.

Ash looked up to Erika who had sat the tray down on the table. Dratini got off the couch and moved to the one where her trainer was sitting and looked down at the food.

"Thanks so much for breakfast, but..." started Ash as he tilted his head down and looked at the floor with a look of shame.

"What's the matter? Please look up and speak of what's on your mind," coaxed Erika as she tried to get the boy to tell her the problem.

"I just feel bad that you've been spending money on me; I mean, it's not right for the girl to have to pay," explained Ash. He looked at his Pokemon and saw that their mouths were drooling from the aroma of the food.

"Don't feel bad; I've gotten plenty of money from battles with trainers. You should not under any circumstance feel guilty; honestly."

"Well, I guess as long as you're okay with it..." said Ash as he went to reach for a fork.

"Sure thing," said Erika as she reached a spoon. She picked up a bowl of okayo that had a bit of honey and ginger in it. Ash grabbed a plate that had scrambled eggs and bacon on it and had a cup of orange juice. He saw that there were four blueberry Pop-Tarts on a napkin and gave one to Dratini. Riolu grabbed one, too, and he grabbed a banana that was on the tray. They all started enjoying their first meal of the day and happily conversed about Pokemon.

"So you want to become an all-around trainer? No certain type?" asked Erika as she finished her apple juice and set it down on the tray.

"Yeah, I mean, it's important to have strategy; I'm not saying having all the same types is a bad thing, but variation gives you an edge," explained Ash as he finished his food. The four of them managed to eat all the contents on the tray within 10 minutes. Dratini ate three Pop-Tarts, a strawberry, and six grapes. Riolu had one Pop-Tart, three grapes, a banana, and a bagel with cream cheese. Erika had a bowl of okayo and seven grapes as well as a glass of apple juice. She gave Ash several uneaten oranges to put in his backpack. He downed a serving of scrambled eggs, three strips of turkey bacon, a strawberry, and the glass of orange juice.

"Let me go take the tray back to the cafeteria, then we can go," instructed Erika as she picked up the tray and went to the cafeteria down the stairs.

"What a nice person, but it makes me wonder, what the deal is," added Ash.

"What do you mean?" asked Riolu through telepathy as he rubbed his soft blue and black tummy with a fuzzy paw.

"Well, mom thinks she knows her, and that guy from the train station knew her name as well," commented Ash. "Maybe there's more to her than I thought."

"Well, you _did _meet her yesterday, afterall," stated Dratini her extended her body out to stretch her muscles.

"True, I mean, it's not like I was anticipating her to give her life story out," added Ash. "Speaking of which, here she comes."

"Hi, Ash. I see that you are you ready now," pointed out the blue-haired adolescent. "Were you just talking to your Pokemon?"

"Yeah, I like to talk to them. Is something wrong with that?" started Ash almost defensively.

"No, nothing wrong with that, but seem people, excluding me, think it is kinda strange, since you don't know what they're saying."

"Well, everyone has an opinion; I'm glad you don't find it strange that I talk to them, or the fact that they aren't in their balls."

"All trainers are different; do what suits you best, not the general opinion," advised Erika.

"Well, I better head outside now and make our way to Pewter City," said Ash.

"I'm going with you, Ash; I would _not _let you go out by yourself with that injury. In fact, I don't even know if it's a truly good idea to go through the forest with crutches," explained Erika with concern in her voice.

"But, I have my Pokemon-"

"I wouldn't be that cruel to let you go venture aimlessly without someone to watch you, and I finalized the decision," protested Erika.

"Ok, I guess having some company would be ok; maybe we could learn a little more about each other."

"Sure," said Erika. "I can also help find any berries when needed."

"That'd be great, thanks." The two of them headed to the automatic doors of the Pokemon Center and was greeted by some rays of sunshine. It was no where near as hot as it was yesterday, but it was also only 10:45 and the warmest part hadn't arrived yet. The plants and grass were covered with a slight layer of water and the ambient temperature was about 62 F (about 16.7 C).

"Ash, I checked the weather forecast and it says there shall be abundant sunshine for today and the next three," stated Erika. "You should test the grass to make sure that you don't get stuck; if it's too thick, we may have to wait tomorrow."

"Ok, I'll give it a try," he said.

"I'll try and catch you if I think you're gonna fall, but just to be sure...Weepinbell, come on out!" Erika threw her ball to the ground and the yellow flower that was hovering above the ground. "Stay by my side and help Ash you think he's gonna fall!"

"Bell," responded the female plant.

Ash put a crutch into the soil. He believed that it was gonna sink in, but it surprisingly didn't. He put his other one in and applied his weight on them. Again, they did not sink.

"That's weird, why didn't it sink?" pondered Ash.

"I think it's because we've been having such a long heat wave and that the ground was real dried up and it didn't get saturated from the rain," theorized Erika. "You'll be ok to walk with your crutches, I'm sure of that."

"But you should keep Weepinbell out just in case," requested Ash as he started walking skillfully with his crutches. The two of them started heading northward to the forest. So Erika with Weepinbell at her side, along with Ash with Dratini and Riolu to the side, all started walking together.

After about thirty minutes, they finally arrived to their destination.

"Haven't been here in quite some time," trailed off Erika. "Being in a forest surrounded by nature...it's so inspiring for a grass-type trainer like me. The only thing that I don't particularly like is the bug Pokemon since grass are weak to them."

"Good thing to know," Ash thought to himself. He looked around and saw some small worm-like Pokemon. "Hm, they look weak, but I may as well fight them to get some experience. Go, Riolu!"

"Rio!" said the little aura Pokemon and gave a small fighting pose. The green worm, which was eating fallen leaves, looked at Riolu and stopped munching on its snack.

"Let's see what kinda Pokemon you are," said Ash as he pulled out his Pokedex.

"Caterpie, the worm Pokemon. These Pokemon inhabit predominately forested areas. When threatened, it will shoot out silk to bind its enemies. When it is ready to evolve, it will form a cocoon."

"Hmm, I don't know if I wanna catch it, but I might as well battle. Riolu, use quick attack!"

The bipedal canine obeyed and swiftly darted at Caterpie and threw a punch at the insect. It dodged the attack and tackled Riolu, but the Pokemon did not falter.

"Try it again!" issued Ash and Riolu used another quick attack, hitting the insect dead on. Once the attack connected, it fainted, its eyes covered with swirls.

"That wasn't even worth the effort," muttered Ash.

"Here, have a berry," stated Erika to the Caterpie. She put it to its mouth and it ate a bite; almost instantly, it was as if it rose from its theoretical grave, and walked off to eat some leaves.

"That was nice; I would feel kinda guilty to leave a Pokemon fainted like that," confessed Ash as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Let's keep looking."

For the next twenty minutes, the two of them remained close to one another. There did not exist much variety in the forest; Caterpie here, Weedle there, a Pidgey in a tree or in the grass. Just typical, low-leveled Pokemon.

"Isn't there anything worth catching?" asked Ash to Erika.

"Hmm, there may be a Pidgeotto or a Metapod; you just have to keep looking. After all, we've been in the forest for about 30 minutes."

Ash decided to take a breather, so with the help of Erika and Weepinbell, he leaned against a tree while sitting down. The foliage of tree began to shake rapidly as well as the beating of wings, or so he thought. The wings did not sound like that of a Pidgey, or any bird Pokemon for that matter; the beating was extremely fast, so it _had _to be that of an insect.

"Do you hear that, Erika?" inquired Ash as he looked around in attempts to find the source.

"It may be trouble; that sounds like it may be a Beedrill!" she exclaimed at a low level. "My Weepinbell knows sleep powder, so if it's a threatening Pokemon, we can put it to sleep and run."

"Ok, sounds like a plan," stated Ash as he grabbed hold of his crutches and began to maneuver without difficulty. Riolu and Dratini stayed on the ground by his side and kept their guard up to check the surroundings and defend themselves if necessary.

The buzzing of the wings began to increase and a green figure darted by swiftly, only a very faint outline detected.

"What do you suppose that was?" asked Ash.

"Well, at least it wasn't a Beedrill; they tend to attack in swarms and that thing actually looked bigger," she responded. "Get ready, Weepinbell; you may have to defend us with a sleep powder soon."

"Bell," said the yellow plant in her deep voice.

The two of them walked to the part of the forest where they saw the outline. The took a few minutes to search the area but turned up empty handed. Whatever it was, it was fast, and more than likely, powerful; Ash wanted to know what it was and _had _to catch it if its power matched its speed.

"Well, looks like it got away," said Ash. "Let's try to go back to the main path we were on."

"If we can _**find** _it," let out Erika. "We've gotten lost, and over nothing."

"Well, I have my Pokegear; we have to head north, so it may tell us which way that is," responded Ash optimistically. He pulled out the small device and the needle of the compass began to slightly budge to the direction of north. "We have to go southeast from our current direction to get back on the path."

They two started walking in that direction when a thud hit the forest floor. The looked around to see that some small branches from the top of a tree had fallen. They shrugged it off and kept walking but after about 20 seconds, they heard an even louder thud. After turning around, they saw a large flock of bird Pokemon flying towards the sky, obviously spooked by something. They saw why; about the top quarter of a tree of some 20 feet had been clean cut off and impacted the base of a tree trunk some feet away, causing the tree to shake violently.

"W-what's going on?" blurted out Ash a bit scared and confused.

"I don't know!" contested Erika. "I'm honestly a bit scared myself!"

They both watched as bug Pokemon started fleeing for their lives since a larger predator (maybe what the two humans briefly glimpsed at) was in the vicinity.

"Dratini, get ready to use a thunder wave to paralyze that thing," ordered Ash. She nodded.

They heard a thud! and realized that whatever it was had landed on the ground due to the sound of approaching footprints! It was heading straight for them at lightning speed!

"What is that thing?!" shouted Ash in a panicked tone and scared as it was coming straight for him!

A.N. Time for a disclaimer. Kellogg's owns Pop-Tarts. Dang! And Nintendo owns Pokemon! Curse my luck! lmao xP Oh yeah, I said I was gonna add the villains, and that he would catch a new Pokemon, but I **promise** they will appear in next chapter! *Shields any flying eggs/tomatoes*


	12. Ash New Ally and 3 Enemies

A.N. *congratulates everyone who reads this story* Thanks a lot! I appreciate anyone who seems interested! Also, I need help using the forums; I kinda wanna RP using Dratini, but I'm unsure on the whole reply thing. Whenever I click on new topic, Google says Oops! Page not found. Anyways, enjoy! Oh, yes. The move sets will not match _accordingly _to any specific generation game; for example, Dratini will learn a new move which she would learn in different generation games in early stages, but nothing at a high level. For example, she may learn something like Dragon Rage or Twister soon, but she won't randomly let out a hyper beam or Dragon Pulse.

Previously in _The World's In Your Hands..._

_"What's going on?" blurted out Ash a bit scared and confused. _

_They heard a thud! and realized that whatever it was had landed on the ground due to the sound of approaching footsteps! It was heading straight for them at lightning speed!_

"What is that thing?!" shouted Ash with deep panic as the figure was approaching them. It finally stopped and they were able to make out the identity of the monster.

"T-that's a Scyther!" said Erika. "I never would have guessed they inhabited _this _part of Kanto."

"Scyther!" exclaimed the Pokemon with a loud voice. It appeared as if it were a genetically-altered...bug/reptile! The Pokemon was huffing and quietly saying its name with its sword-like forearms prepared for battle.

"Let's check it out," Ash said as he opened his _**red**_Pokedex. *cookie if you already know where this is heading* The Syther's eyes bulged as it viewed the hand-held device.

"Scyther, the mantis Pokemon. These bug Pokemon inhabit the grasslands and forests away from humans. Their scythe blade forearms are sharp enough to chop tree trunks whose diameter is even four feet. They move so swiftly that some people refer to them as the "Ninja Insectoid". They can even distinguish colors and become enraged when they see-"

"Ash, watch out!" shouted Erika as Scyther started heading directly towards Ash! "Weepinbell, quick! Use sleep powder to knock it out!"

"Bell!" The yellow flower did not need to hear the command twice; she shook her body and a turquoise-colored powder escaped and fill the air near Scyther's face. It was noted that it was being effected by the powder; the green mantis's movements began to slow down until it impacted the ground asleep.

"Come on, let's take this time to _move_!" demanded Ash. No one objected that suggestion and they moved as quickly as possible from the aggressive Pokemon that would surely wake up soon.

After the gang of five had moved as fast as possible (slower than their ultimate fastest due to Ash being on crutches) for about five minutes, all of them had become exhausted. They all began panting and sat down below a large oak tree.

"Do you think we lost it?" asked Ash as he looked at the blue-haired female.

"I think so, but that sleep powder won't hold it back for long," stated Erika who was panting just as loud as Ash.

"Before you shouted my name, Dexter was saying that Scyther become enraged when they see something; maybe a color?" suggested Ash.

"Maybe you should check again; that way we will know what _not _to do so it won't ambush us again," added Erika as she watched as Ash took the Pokedex out of his pocket and opened it.

"What enrages Scyther?" asked Ash to the Pokedex. Within a split second the electronic male voice returned.

"Scyther become enraged when they see the color red," replied Dexter.

"Red, huh," said Ash. "That's why it must've attacked me because it saw the Pokedex. "

"But it was after us even **before** you took it out," added Erika. "It must've seen the red on me. My hairband, the bow on my outfit, and my shoes must've angered him. Plus, your hat is read; all of those must've set it attack mode."

"But it seems a bit weird when you really think of it," started Ash. "Why would it randomly be looking for people if it tends to avoid them? It should've sensed us coming, but instead it pursued us."

"Perhaps we entered its territory inadvertently and got even more enraged upon seeing our attire," commented Erika.

"It may be a good idea to take off that headband and that bow, and even your shoes; maybe if you do that, it may not recognize us, or at least not be so aggressive so I can try and battle it," said Ash. Dratini and Riolu nodded at him.

"I can take off the headband and bow, sure, but the shoes? Absolutely not, no way in this forest!" blurted out Erika who folded her arms into her chest and turned her head.

"Why not?" inquired Ash.

"I will **_not_ **make contact with this filthy forest floor!" shrilled Erika. "Tons of bug Pokemon and-and other unsanitary things have made contact with it! Look at your Dratini; she's _covered _with filth!" Ash, Riolu, Weepinbell, and Erika all looked at the little dragon, causing her to sweat-drop. She looked down at her lower half from about where her theoretical navel would be to the tip of her tail. She was covered with a light layer of grime, but it honestly didn't seem to bother her at all.

"Ni?" she said confused.

"Don't listen to her, girl, she's just a little _neat-freak,_ is all," said Ash, causing Dratini to giggle.

"How rude!" retaliated Erika to the remark Ash made. "Wait, I don't know why _**I'm**_making a big deal about being called a neat-freak, cause it is true."

"Well, do you have any other suggestions to cover the red on your shoes?" asked Ash, waiting to get a good answer from her.

"Wait, that's it!" said Erika as a light bulb lit up in her head. "I don't have to take them off, just cover them."

She went to a nearby oak tree and started pulling off a bunch of leaves. She got on her haunches and started to tuck a bit of the leaf into the shoes and let the rest hang on the outside, all around both shoes until they were completed hidden of red and were a yellowish-orange. Ash wanted to laugh at how ridiculous they looked, but he wasn't in the mood to get slapped by Erika.

Erika took off her headband and bow and tucked them both into the pocket of her dress. Ash took off his red hat and placed it into his backpack. They both looked at each other and nodded.

"Ok, we're both free of red; hopefully if we encounter the Scyther again, which I hope we don't, it won't be as mad," said Erika.

"Good, now let's head to Pewter City!" announced Ash and all of them cheered excitedly.

_Somewhere within the forest..._

"All the trainers we have encountered are nothing but damn bugcatchers; those overgrown invertebrates will be no good for the boss," said a female figure.

"Caterpie after Caterpie, Weedle after Weedle...The same story," said a male figure. "If we really wanna impress the boss, we can't show up empty handed or bring in one of those pathetic bugs."

"I did hear something that sounded unusual, even for a bug Pokemon," said the female. "There was a loud buzzing of wings, and moved ultra fast."

"Hmm, definitely a change from what we've been seeing," said the male. "Let's go investigate."

_Back to Ash and friends..._

_"_Are we gonna be able to reach Pewter City before sun down?" asked Ash as he looked at his Pokegear watch. It was 12:17.

"More than likely, no," said Erika. "That's what I hate though; we're gonna have to spend the night here and sleep on the ground."

"Aren't you afraid to sleep on the filthy ground?" asked Ash; he wasn't too worried about himself because he had a sleeping bag but he wanted to hear what she was going to say.

"Probably make a leaf bed with the freshest leaves," she said. "I've done it before, so I know what to expect."

"Well, if you say so," muttered Ash as they both kept moving. "You know, I'm surprised that Scyther hasn't found us yet."

"Me, too, but I'm glad at the same time," stated Erika. "I don't want to have...to...Oh, no! It's him!"

As if on cue, the beating of insect wings began to flutter in the distance. They were approaching, and fast, until...

"Scyther!" said the mantis and its scythe-like forearms gleamed in the sunlight!

"Persistent thing!" said Erika as the Scyther flew in front of the two humans.

"Looks like we've got no choice but to fight; get ready, guys," Ash told his Pokemon. They both nodded at him.

The Scyther began dashing at them at blinding speed with a quick attack. "Dratini, use thunder wave to slow it down!" She did so and let a small charge form in her body; she hurled it at Scyther, but the insectoid dodged it with no difficulty.

"It's too quick for that move; you'll have to weaken it first, somehow," advised Erika. "Weepinbell, use razor leaf!"

"Bell...bell, bell, bell, bell!" shouted the yellow flower as she span her body around and let loose a barrage of sharp leaves. Again, Scyther was able to dodge them all, but turned his attention straight to Weepinbell.

"Riolu, go after Scyther with _your _quick attack," commanded Ash. Riolu nodded and dashed on his hind legs towards the mantis. "Dratini, when Scyther is distracted by Riolu, I want you to try another thunder wave! You'll have to sneak up on him first!" She nodded and began squirming around the floor as fast as she could till she reached a position hidden from view from Scyther.

Scyther was just about to connect his quick attack to Weepinbell, but he was unable to do so because Riolu went and punched him in the weakest part of the abdomen; the Scyther easily took the blow but stepped back a few in reaction. Scyther, now mad, changed Riolu to the current target. He used false swipe to Riolu, but the little aura Pokemon did a back handspring and successfully dodged it. Weepinbell floated back to Erika's side since she felt she would be safer by her trainer instead in the midst of a heated battle against a Pokemon that had a strong type advantage against her.

Scyther and Riolu continued to land blows on one another, but it was clear that Scyther had the upper hand. Riolu was about to fall over after receiving several scratches and false swipes. Scyther was focusing on no one else except the bipedal canine, putting him vulnerable from a sneak attack. Dratini, who was hiding behind a tree and out of the distracted Scyther's vision, charged her body a faint yellowish glow and released a thunder wave! It hit dead on and the electricity coursed through every nerve of the mantis's body, causing him to hit the ground suddenly. Riolu ran back to Ash's side, beat and exhausted.

Scyther tried to get back up again, and was successful, now trying to lunge another quick attack at Dratini this time.

"Wrap and leer will be too weak against Scyther, maybe Dexter can tell me a different move," said Ash. He turned his back to Scyther so he wouldn't see the red device and brought up Dratini's info.

"Dratini's current moves are, Thunder Wave, Leer, Wrap, and Twister," spoke Dexter. Ash turned around to look at the scene; Dratini was easily avoiding Scyther's slow movements due to paralysis, but one could clearly see that he wasn't giving up yet. Erika was hiding behind a tree some 20 feet away from Ash, but she was cheering Dratini on, telling her to not let that overgrown insect take her down! Ash felt a tug on his jeans and looked down.

"Ash...I'm in pain," spoke Riolu weakly with his head held down.

"Here, have an Oran berry while I apply some potion," said Ash. He offered the little aura Pokemon a berry which he quickly grabbed and started eating while Ash began to apply some of the synthetically made potion onto Riolu's wounds.

"Better?" asked Ash.

"Much," said Riolu with a tail wag.

"What else do you know besides quick attack?" asked Ash.

"Well, I learned as an egg move seismic toss and low kick from my father Machoke, and I know endure, but that's about it," confessed Riolu.

"How do low kick and seismic toss work?" asked Ash.

"Low kick, I kick the opponent real hard, making it trip. Seismic toss, I jump into the air grabbing the enemy and use the force of gravity in a throw to attack," explained Riolu.

"That gives me a wonderful idea..." started Ash. "Riolu, use quick attack and hit Scyther in his weak part of the abdomen, then give it low trip to kick it!"

"Got it," obeyed Riolu who dashed to Scyther and unleashed a punch to the mantis's gut, causing him to groan in pain.

"Dratini, after Riolu uses low kick, use twister before Scyther hits the ground!" ordered Ash. She nodded to his order. Riolu let out a strong kick to Scyther's left leg and swept it out from under him, causing him to fall face down against the ground. However, this did not happen as Dratini used her tail to fling the twister she had created by spinning around ultra fast in a circle. The swirling vortex hit Scyther dead on with a critical hit and sent him spinning in the ultra, calling out his name in panic.

"Now, Riolu, give 'im a seismic toss!" shouted Ash. Riolu jumped on his hind legs and jumped about 15 feet into the air and grabbed the Scyther who was still slowly ascending into the air. Riolu grabbed Scyther and spun him around like a torpedo and bashed Scyther's head into the ground, causing swirls to appear in his eyes.

Erika stepped out from her hiding and looked at the result of the battle. Limps from trees were blown off due to the force of the twister and there was now a crater surrounding the body of Scyther. "Wow, good going, Ash!" she cheered.

"Awesome! Now that we knocked it out, let's catch it!" cheered Ash happily. "Pokeball, go!" He hurled the red and white sphere at the unconscious mantis and he got sucked up into it. The ball landed on the ground and began to wobble for about two seconds.

"Come on, come on..." said Ash under his breath. The ball wobbled for another three seconds until it made its click noise, signifying that the catch was successful! Ash walked over to the Pokeball and picked it up.

"All right! I caught a Scyther!" he exclaimed gleefully. "And it was all thanks to you guys." He hugged his Pokemon and they both wagged their tails happily.

"I'm so proud of you, Ash!" cheered Dratini to his mind.

"Good strategy, Ash, I've gained a lot more trust from you," responded Riolu who nuzzled Ash's cheek with his cold, wet nose.

"Quit it, that tickles!" giggled Ash as Riolu kept tickling him with his nose, all the while wagging his blue tail rapidly.

"That was a very good display of teamwork, Ash," congratulated Erika as she went and handed Ash some berries she had found while he was occupied with his team. "Here are some Sitrus Berries and more Cheri Berries for your Pokemon. The Sitrus berry heals a quarter of the Pokemon's health, although it may not help that much at this level. I found a few more Oran berries."

"Thanks, Erika, I'm real glad that you came with me." She nodded and set the berries down on the ground. "I'll heal Scyther now, since I don't want him to have to go through pain." He let out the bug Pokemon who fell to a knee from weakness but managed to muster the strength to turn his back to Ash and sit down.

"Come on, don't be like that, Scyther," pleaded Ash. "I just want to help you, that's all." He placed his hand on the mantis's shoulder, but the bug tried to move his head and bite it, but it was no good since he was so wiped out.

"Please, Scyther," begged Ash again. Scyther looked into Ash's eyes and saw that they were sensitive, loving, and caring. He felt that the boy was holding truth to his word and decided to accept the berry. He held out his mouth but was unable to eat it when a cackling filled the area.

"How pathetic, you can't even get your own Pokemon to eat the food you offer him," said a red-haired female wearing a white shirt with an R over it. It was fairly short and did not even cover her navel, but a short black undershirt was visible. She had on long black leather gloves and boots that matched; the boots were thigh-high and were about three inches of skin was seen until they reached a short skirt.

"Let us take your Pokemon off your hands; they will suffer much more with _you_ being their trainer," said the male. He had blue hair, and a shirt with a red R on it like the females, but his was long sleeves as well as his pants. He had shorter leather gloves and boots than she did.

"We're here for your Pokemon, and our boss would be most appreciative if you forked them over," said a feline Pokemon that talked!

"Who-who are you?" stuttered Ash a bit confused and slightly scared.

"The surroundings admit an aura of fright into the air," started the female.

"When our presence is near, people shout 'beware'," said the male.

"Exterminating the threat of global devastation is our goal," said female.

"Making the world safe and to bring the people together as a whole," said male.

"Eradicating the rumors that give truth and love a bad reputation."

"Extending our grasp through the galaxy and into the constellations."

"Jesse," said the woman.

"James," he said as he was holding a rose.

"Team Rocket, blasting off at a speed that can escape a black whole's vacuum," said Jesse.

"Just hand over the Pokemon and give up now or you will face a world of doom," said James.

"Meowth, what they just said!" said their feline Pokemon.

"Who-who are you, and what are you talking about?" asked a confused Ash with a sweat-drop.

"Did you not just hear what we said, twerp?" said Jesse. "We're Team Rocket, and we've come to steal your Pokemon!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it," confronted Ash.

_Next chapter preview: Ash defends Scyther from Team Rocket's Pokemon, gaining trust from the mantis. They also have to watch out for a deadly swarm of Pokemon that inhabit the forest!_

A.N. I wanted to keep the meaning of Team Rocket's original motto, just worded differently. Yeah, cept that the problem is that it's way off balance with the tune, obviously. Lol. I just wanted to try something different.


	13. Team Rocket and Trouble

Psssh...Hi! Long time, no update! I had exams in school so I was busy. Anyways, enjoy! Oh yeah, I'm _definitely _reverting back to the original Team Rocket motto; sure, it's overused, but I like it and it rocks!

"Did you not just hear what we said twerp? We've come to steal your Pokemon!" exclaimed Jesse. "And since they're already weak, it'll make the job that much easier since you won't be able to fight back."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," stepped up Ash and James looked at the temporarily crippled pre-adolescent stand up.

"And to make matters even easier, the trainer is crippled," said James. "Will be like taking candy from a baby."

"What type of people go around and wanting to steal Pokemon?" asked Erika almost rhetorically since she had a feeling that they would not bother wasting time answering a deep philosophical/psychological question.

"It's all about business, baby, and the respect we get from our boss _if _we successfully accomplish our task," replied the feline Pokemon with a strong Brooklyn accent.

"There is no way I would let fiends like you take away my Pokemon," said Ash. "If you want 'em that badly, I challenge you to a battle! Two on two!" He looked at Erika and she slowly nodded in agreement.

"You really wanna fight us?" asked Jesse clearly amused. "Find, but don't cry when you gotta hand over your Pokemon!"

"Not gonna happen!" assured Ash. He thought deeply about which Pokemon to use in this battle; it was going to be his first one with a trainer, err, uh, human. "Hmm, Dratini looks to be in best shape of my Pokemon, so I'll use her."

"I'll use one of my other Pokemon," said Erika as she withdrew Weepinbell back to her ball. "Go, Pokeball!" She threw the red and white sphere and the Pokemon escaped the ball. It was a cluster of six...eggs? thought Ash. Some of them looked cracked and one could see yellow contents inside, but all of them had different faces; some were smiling, some looked indifferent to the situation at hand.

"Let's see about this Pokemon," thought Ash as he took out the Pokedex.

"Exeggcute, the egg Pokemon. It is mistaken for eggs even though it is a cluster of plant seeds. All seeds are needed to maximize their Psychic abilities."

"Sounds interesting," thought Ash as he put it back into his back pocket.

"Go, Ekans!" said Jesse as she threw her pokeball and a long purple snake popped.

"Go, Koffing!" exclaimed James as he threw his, letting out a purple balloon with a cross skull on its stomach.

"Ekans, use poison sting on those walking breakfast ingredients!" commanded Jesse as she pointed a finger at the seed cluster Pokemon. The serpent Pokemon did not deny the order and fired a furious storm of purple needles.

"Exeggcute, use reflect! Than fire barrage!" instructed Erika. The seeds nodded and manipulate the molecules in the air an transformed them into a solid wall which deflected the needles, causing them to explode and left Exeggcute unharmed. The cluster of seeds then fired black baseball-sized spheres at the Ekans, causing the snake to flinch from the impact.

"Koffing, use sludge on that blue dragon!" shouted James. The toxic balloon belched out unsanitary muck from its mass and it was hurled it towards Dratini.

"Jump outta the way and use thunder wave!" said Ash.

"Got it," she said to his mind where only he could understand. She applied force to her tail and sprung into the air. Koffing let out more globs of sludge and one of them hit Dratini! She got covered with the muck and fell down to the ground.

"Dratini, are you ok?" shouted out Ash.

"Yes, but I've been poisoned," she said and shuddered. Suddenly, a white light surrounded her and something very strange happened. Her skin came off and molted, causing the old skin to crumble away, with a new layer of the same teal shade replacing the old.

"What was that?" said James shocked since the dragon appeared unharmed.

"Let's check it out," said Ash as he took out his Pokedex again.

"Shed Skin, Dratini's special ability. When inflicted with a status condition, there is a possibility that Dratini will cure its own problems by shedding its skin and replacing a new layer."

"Cool, this will definitely come in handy," noted Ash as he once again pocketed the Pokedex. "Get back up and use another thunder wave!"

Dratini did as told and released a bluish charge from her body and unleased it at Koffing. The toxic air balloon was hit and had trouble staying airborne and finally fell to the ground, immobile due to the paralysis.

"Give it leech seed, Exeggcute!" ordered the blue-haired girl. The seeds all nodded and flung a large handful of seeds at both Ekans and Koffing, causing little plants to sprout out of them and returning stolen energy to the seed Pokemon.

"Dratini, use twister on them both!" commanded Ash. The little dragon obeyed and conjured a small twister that trapped both the purple snake and toxic balloon Pokemon. The two victims started shouting their names in panic as the sharp wind vortex was tearing at them.

"Ekans, stay strong!" ordered Jesse. "Once you're released, use acid on those two nuisances!"

"Koffing, get ready to counterattack with a sludge bomb!" stated James with a tightly clenched fist and an angry expression for being owned by two young trainers.

"Exeggcute, use barrage into the twister to _further _increase damage!" shouted Erika. The seed Pokemon tilted backwards and shot out some more black spheres into the tornado, the swirling vortex increasing their momentum and colliding with the two poison types. The tornado finally ceased and the two poison Pokemon were released, impacting the ground with swirls in their eyes as proof of their defeat.

"**YOU BRATS!" **shouted Jesse at the top of her voice and caused Ash to flinch from fright. "You just got lucky that's all!" she continued ranting as she recalled Ekans back into his ball.

"Jesse, calm down; it's been a while since you last battled, anyways," reassured James as he patted her shoulder in consolation. She turned her back to the young heros and clenched her fist and looked down. She _almost _let out a tear, but she knew that her reputation would be tainted if she was caught crying over losing to two trainers known as twerps.

"You got lucky this round; I haven't battled in a while, so my skills are not up to par," started Jesse. "But mark my words, we _will _get that Dratini of yours, and all your other little Pokemon, so you best learn to recognize fear in the presence of Team Rocket!"

"Quite a speech," stated Meowth who sarcastically clapped his two paws together.

Jesse growled and pulled out a white fan and smacked the cat in the face. "Shout your Meowth!" she ordered angrily.

Ash and Erika both giggled but that shortly came to an end when they heard a collection of many, many, fast-beating wings. It didn't sound like bird wings at all, but they didn't quite sound like the wings of Scyther. Everyone looked around for the source of the beating and they finally saw that a cluster of bee-type Pokemon were heading straight for them!

"Beedrill!" shouted Erika. "We gotta find shelter, and fast! Your screaming must've disturbed them," she directed towards Jesse.

"See ya, twerps!" said Jesse, James, and Meowth in unison as they fled in a different direction away from the Beedrill swarm, who were now focusing on Ash and Erika.

"We gotta move!" said Ash, but noticed that Erika was motionless. He turned to look at her. "What are you doing? We can't just stand here and get attacked by them!"

Erika nodded, but she still remained quiet. It was as if though she was oblivious to the situation at hand until something snapped her back into reality. "I realize that we can't outrun them, so...Gloom, go!" she threw the Pokeball to the ground and a walking blue flower with red petals popped out. "Use your odor to drive them away, now!"

The flower Pokemon tilted her head downward where it pointed towards the swarm. She let out a loud "Glooooooom!" and a greenish-brown gas escaped her head. It expanded and covered the whole area, infiltrating the nose of Ash and Dratini, who both covered their noses; Ash by putting a hand over his face with his arm still holding the crutch and Dratini used her tail. Once the odor reached the Beedrill and "smelled" the stench with their antennae, they immediately halted and reversed direction, fleeing from the horrendous odor. Ash watched them flee and chuckled.

"We're safe, for now..." he said as he leaned against a tree. "I should heal my Pokemon before we continue."

"Here, I got some berries for you to use," said Erika as she handed him Oran berries and a Cheri berry. "Since Scyther is a flying type, he would be useful against another swarm of Beedrill, but for now, let's focus on healing his wounds, okay?"

Ash agreed and threw Scyther's ball to the ground and saw the poor insectoid struggle. He was first able to support himself but the paralysis set in and inhibited him from standing up. It was as if gravity was his enemy and the fundamental force intensified and caused him to hit the ground with swirls. He let out a small "Scyyy.." and closed his eyes to rest.

"There, everything's gonna be ok," promised Ash as he placed a Cheri berry to Scyther's mouth. Since the insect's eyes were closed, he could tell that it was right by his mouth from the odor it was emitting and he sniffed it quickly. "Go on, this will help paralysis," encouraged Ash.

Scyther did not disobey and opened his mouth and Ash plopped inside. The Pokemon began to chew it and finished it all within a few seconds. Erika was closely watching in anticipation that the Pokemon would be okay; sure, she disliked bugs, but she didn't lack compassion to them, especially if they were suffering.

Scyther finished the berry and regained movement to his limbs, but he wasn't able to support himself well since he was still exhausted after the battle he had earlier. Ash placed in front of the Pokemon some blue Oran berries and placed it on Scyther's bladed arm, where he ate it. The Pokemon enjoyed the flavor and wanted more, and Ash did not deny that wish. He placed a few more on Scyther's arm and he ate them til he was fully healed.

"Good Pokemon," said Ash in a comforting voice as he stroked Scyther's shoulder. Scyther nodded and smiled at Ash, then approached him closer and wrapped his "arms" around the human!

"Whoa, Scyther just hugged you!" announced Erika, pointing out the obvious with a chuckle. Ash chuckled too and patted the Pokemon's green "ears" on his head. All the sudden, everyone heard a low grumble and thought that it was some other Pokemon in the distance, but Ash fessed up and said that he was starting to get hungry.

A.N. Thanks for reading! Kinda short, but I'll be sure to work on this again soon! Thanks for all the faithful readers! lol (: Have a nice day/evening/morning!


	14. Raising Hope

Thanks for the 100 favorites! And happy Halloween! Sorry for the long update.

Ash felt his stomach grumble from the appetite that he had worked up from the battle with Team Rocket and fleeing from the Beedrill. Sure, it had only been about two and a half hours since they had breakfast, but he needed nourishment since he was a growing boy, after all. He positioned his back against a nearby tree and sat down onto the foliage-covered ground and his Pokemon went to his side, concerned about the well-being of their master.

"Ash, are you okay, buddy?" asked Erika who got down on her knees and directed her vision to his. He was looking down blankly into the ground, losing focus of what was going on in the surroundings for the time being. The blue-haired girl knew that he was okay, but wondered why he lost stamina all the sudden. It was not that warm out today, so it couldn't be from the weather.

"I didn't sleep well last night, and I'm hungry," pointed out Ash as he rubbed his stomach. Scyther lay down on his stomach and "roosted", as if he was in a nest next to his master. Dratini had her head on Ash's knees and was looking straight up at him.

"Why do we have to go through this forest to get to Pewter City? Why?" asked Ash somewhat rhetorically as he was losing his patience. "I hate getting lost in this natural maze! I feel like I'm gonna go crazy if I have to stare at these trees any more!"

"Well, there _are _other routes to get to Pewter City, but they are far longer," stated Erika as she put a hand on his shoulder. "We've only been in the forest for about three hours. Why do you feel like you're going to go insane?"

"I guess it's because I'm a bit claustrophobic and with the trees being so close together and partially blocking out the sky...it feels like it's swallowing me up. I'm used to be in open places, like the area around Pallet Town. I don't hate forests, it's just that the vegetation here is too densely distributed and not giving me enough space!" He sighed after finishing that long statement.

"I'm deeply sorry to hear that, Ash, but I'm sure we can reach Pewter City tomorrow evening," said Erika with a tone of confidence. She could relate to Ash's fear of claustrophobia; she hated being at high elevations since she had a fear of falling. She continued speaking: "I mean, we _technically _can go to Pewter City some other route, but-this is the shortest way from our current location. I'm sorry to tell you that."

"Like what?" asked Ash interested. He couldn't believe that there were no other shorter ways to arrive at the city where he would obtain his first badge.

"What do you mean 'like what'?" asked Erika as she tilted her head a bit confused by his sudden comment.

"What other routes could we take to get to Pewter City? Isn't there a train or something?"

"Well, it would be an ultra tedious procedure, but Viridian Forest is the most straightforward route to Pewter City," started Erika. "I mean, you could go back to Pallet Town and catch a ferry that goes to Viridian. From there, you could go through Diglett's cave, which, coincidentally, leads right to the southern limits outside of Pewter City, but outside of Viridian Forest."

Ash rubbed his head then Dratini's. "I mean, can't we go _around _the forest, by any means?"questioned Ash.

"No, there are mountains that off limits to the general population; they are used for Pokemon research and weather observation, and anyone caught without any authentication will arrested; but since you are so young, they would probably release you to your parents since you probably didn't know."

"Well, when you give me those options, I guess I have no option to press forward," stated Ash. "But I'm still hungry; what do we have for food?"

"I can go gather some berries for lunch and dinner and tomorrow's breakfast," assured Erika as she stood back up. "I'll be back soon; I know what berries have good source of protein and vitamins to help you get back on your feet again!" Within a second, she nipped out of the view of Ash and no longer was visible.

"I feel weak for feeling dependent," stated Ash as he rubbed Dratini's head lovingly, causing her to close her eyes affectionately. The little dragon did not like the way her trainer was beating himself over something he did not have control over, so she knew she had to reassure him that everything was going to be okay.

"It isn't your fault your foot got cut, Ash," she said as she wagged her teal tail a little. "If you were a burden, she would probably tell you, or have already left."

"Yeah, but I wonder what Erika's goals are," thought Ash a bit worried. "I mean, I feel guilty to a degree that's she using her time to help me when she could be fulfilling _her own _dreams." He scoffed and turned his head away from the little dragon Pokemon. "I should get a second opinion; besides, I'm sure he will want lunch soon. Come on out, Riolu!"

Ash lazily threw the ball about a yard to the side and the little aura canine made his appearance with a backflip before landing on the ground. "Rio!" he said joyfully.

"Riolu, I wanna hear your opinion on this score; do you think that my faltering is a burden to Erika?" questioned the raven-haired trainer, wanting an honest answer from the little bipedal Pokemon.

"Personally, I think you _are _impeding her from reaching her goal, whatever it might be," started Riolu as he scratched his chin as he contemplated heavily on the gravity of the matter that was clearing bothering Ash. "I mean, she said she was searching for rare Pokemon; I also believe that her selfless devotion to helping you recover reflects her true intentions. She hasn't complained at all about getting back to searching for Pokemon, so I conclude that if she is not experiencing any lost from helping you, you aren't a burden."

Ash smiled at the Pokemon who had just finished speaking elegantly. "Thank you, thank you both." He brought the two Pokemon to his chest and hugged them, feeling the cool sliminess of Dratini's body and the warm fur of Riolu's chest against him. The little aura Pokemon turned his head and his icy nose brushed against Ash's cheek. "That tickles!" giggled Ash, causing both the Pokemon to wag their tails. Scyther, who was lying next to the three of them, woke up when he caught the aroma of berries. Ash saw that Erika was approaching with a ton of berries cradled in her arms and that there was a cloth bag filled with what presumed to be more. The bag was tied in a knot around her wrist so she could carry it since her arms were already well occupied.

"Look whose back with those good looking berries," teased Ash as Erika looked down and saw the rainbow variation of berries in her arms. She chuckled and placed the berries on several napkins she had in her pocket from the Pokemon center.

"So what type of berries did you find?" asked Ash curiously as he looked at the assorted berries that were lying in front of them.

"A bluk berry," she said as she pointed to what looked like a real blackberry, "a rawst berry, which is very similar to a strawberry, but it cures burns, some Oran and Cheri berries, Chesto berries for curing sleep, Sitrus berries, and Pecha berries for curing poison, since there are bugs that use poison moves. Enjoy!"

Erika, Ash, and all the other Pokemon grabbed a berry and began munching. Ash took a bluk berry and took a bite. hungry and not wanting to wait another minute without food. The violet colored berry entered his mouth and he chewed it, getting all the flavors. It was very sweet but left a dry aftertaste in his throat. He took some water he had in a bottle and drank some, replenishing the moisture in his mouth.

"What do these bluk berries do?" asked Ash. "All the other ones heal status ailments, so what does this berry do?"

"Nothing, but it does stain your mouth black," pointed out Erika. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a compact she used to apply makeup. Ash looked at his mouth and laughed, luckily without spitting any seeds out or gagging on them.

"Feel any better?" she added as she put away the small mirror back into the pocket.

"From what?" asked Ash as he whiped his arm with the sleeve of his shirt and took a sip of water.

"You said you were feeling hungry, so I thought that may have been the reason why you were so angry about being in this hungry, perharps," she suggested as she began to wrap up the berries in the cloth sack. Dratini, Riolu, and Scyther had all eaten an Oran berry; they had eaten some not to long ago, so they felt it was unnecessary to indulge further in the sweet products from the trees.

"Yeah, I'm better now, but I wish we could get to Pewter City as soon as possible," commented Ash as he put the water back into his back pack. He stood up and held on to the crutches for support as he began to walk northbound; he knew it was north because he knew that based on the position of the sun on the time of the day, he could determine which direction north would be.

Erika stood up and Ash withdrew Riolu and Scyther back into their Pokeballs. Ash asked Dratini if she wanted to go inside of her ball and she decided that yes, she would, by shaking her head. Even though this would be only the second time she went into her ball, she wanted a breif nap after fighting Scyther and Team Rocket from earlier.

Short Chapter, but I wanted to get an update: I'll make sure they reach Pewter City next chapter at the end (hopefully!)


	15. Author's Note

P.S. For any of those who previously read this and didn't read the review I left on the story, I'm not gonna delete it. I just will be slow. Thanks! But I will still need ideas for future purposes. And a beta reader for anyone who is interested.

Cheers

GPS


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